"While Nick was batting away one competitor, Disney started to get focused and started to move with consistency against another part of what had been Nick's universe: girl-driven sitcoms," said Herb Scannell, former Nickelodeon Networks president. "I give all of them a lot of credit."
By 2001, Disney had launched "Lizzie McGuire," about a 13-year-old middle-schooler who expressed her thoughts through a cartoon alter ego. The series was the network's breakthrough. That year, Disney Channel overtook Nickelodeon as the top prime-time network among children ages 9 to 14. The series, starring Duff, would become a template for future Disney Channel franchises to reach beyond television: The Lizzie McGuire soundtracks sold millions, setting the stage for Cyrus.
Music -- specifically Disney's revival of the break-into-song Broadway-style musical with its sleeper 2006 hit "High School Musical" -- catapulted Disney Channel into the cultural zeitgeist. An estimated 290 million viewers worldwide watched love bloom between the high-school basketball star and the brain.
"I have to tell you that making musical theater cool for kids has been a highlight of my career," Ross told Fordham Law School graduates in a 2008 commencement speech.
He no longer creates the shows that serve as star vehicles -- that responsibility falls to his creative partner, Marsh. As Ross' responsibilities include 100 channels worldwide, Judy Taylor runs casting, but he retains the final say on the selection of all lead characters.
It is still unclear whether the teen stars Ross has established will go on to long-term Hollywood success. Though LaBeouf ("Even Stevens," "Holes") has appeared in several hit movies without the Disney brand, Duff hasn't had a breakout role post-Lizzie McGuire. She split with Disney in 2003, after talks to move "Lizzie" to high school -- and the ABC network -- broke down over money. Duff did not respond to e-mailed questions.
Disney Channel maintains a prime-time edge over Nickelodeon. The network has had the occasional misfire, such as "Naturally, Sadie," about a 14-year-old aspiring naturalist. And Nickelodeon still has a larger audience than Disney throughout the day, according to the latest Nielsen ratings.
Nickelodeon has tried to steal some of Disney Channel's thunder: "iCarly," about a teen girl who hosts her own Web show, now draws an average of 2.7 million viewers, outperforming "Hannah Montana," according to Nielsen.
