Disney Lines Up Multi-Platform 9/11 25th Anniversary Coverage Across ABC, Nat Geo, Disney+ and Hulu
Disney is marshalling nearly every corner of its media empire — ABC News, National Geographic, Disney+, Hulu, local ABC stations and the ABC News Live streaming service — for programming marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks (Variety, 10 August 2026).
The centrepiece is a live national broadcast anchored by ABC News and WABC-TV New York, alongside a new original documentary from National Geographic. Disney developed some of the editorial content in conjunction with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum (Variety, 10 August 2026).
Debra OConnell, chairman of Disney Entertainment Television, was quoted in connection with the anniversary plans, which Disney described as positioning National Geographic and ABC News as "the definitive destination" for 9/11 coverage (Variety, 10 August 2026; National Geographic press site, 6 August 2026).
National Geographic's flagship offering is a three-part docuseries called 9/11 Reunited, premiering 21 August. The series revisits the attacks and brings together first responders and witnesses with people they helped on that day. Each episode will be available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu the day after its linear broadcast (Variety, 10 August 2026).
The series was created in collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and 72 Films. Executive producers are David Glover and Mark Raphael of 72 Films, alongside Academy Award winners Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin. Louis Lee Ray produces; Julian Jones directs. Cate Hall and Carolyn Payne serve as executive producers for National Geographic (Variety, 10 August 2026).
Beyond the docuseries, National Geographic will debut an expansive video archive of never-before-seen 9/11 footage, exclusive interviews and original source material on NatGeo.com in early September (Variety, 10 August 2026).
Disney is not alone in preparing for the anniversary. CBS News has announced extensive plans, including live coverage of morning ceremonies and an entire primetime lineup dedicated to 9/11 remembrance. Fox News Channel, MSNBC and NBC News were expected to offer special anniversary programming as well, according to people familiar with their plans (Variety, 10 August 2026).
ABC News anchor Robin Roberts has also announced 11 September anniversary specials airing on The History Channel and Lifetime (ABC News, 6 August 2026).
One figure shapes the editorial thinking: research cited by Disney shows that 100 million Americans today have no lived memory of September 11, 2001 (Variety, 10 August 2026). For a broadcast industry built on reaching audiences, that number frames the challenge — telling a story to a country where nearly a third of the population was not yet born or was too young to remember it.
The anniversary also falls against a political backdrop. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr opened an investigation in March 2025 into Disney's diversity practices and said Disney submitted documents he viewed as insufficient. ABC has said the FCC's actions amount to seeking to intimidate the network over its news coverage (Reuters, 30 July 2026). How that dispute intersects with ABC's anniversary reporting is not yet clear.
On the ground in Lower Manhattan, 2 World Trade Center broke ground 25 years after the attacks and is scheduled to open in 2031 as the global headquarters of American Express (ABC News, 9 July 2026). The FDNY is also planning its own commemoration for 2026 (YouTube, 9 December 2025).
Disney's anniversary programming sits within a broader corporate initiative called "Disney Celebrates America," part of the America 250 events lineup. That plan includes a special airing from 8 to 10 p.m. PT/ET and a 24-hour, cross-platform National Geographic broadcast spanning ABC (The Walt Disney Company, 2 June 2026).
