if you are going to have your kid watch tv, then disney playhouse is excellent. a lot of different programmes, some focus on phonics/spelling (word world- produced in conjunction with the US dept of Ed), higglety town heros (introduces various occupations etc), mickey mouse clubhouse (some problem solving, choosing the correct tool for the job) etc.
for the first 3-4 years of my son's life disney playhouse was all he watched. now that he's older, he's graduated to "brain candy" tv: transformers, popeye, pink panther and ben 10 are his favourites...for now...
if you already have nowtv, adding disney channels only costs $30-50/month...