Star World (Indian TV channel)

Star World was an Indian pay television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company India, a company wholly owned by The Walt Disney Company. During its tenure it had mainly telecast shows from multiple Disney-owned studios such as FX Productions, ABC Signature, and 20th Television. Its programming was content that would appeal to the 14 to 35-year-old urban population, with 24-year-old working professionals being its primary target demographic.

Star World India
CountryIndia
Broadcast areaIndian subcontinent
NetworkDisney Star
HeadquartersMumbai
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerThe Walt Disney Company India
Sister channelsDisney Star Channels
History
Launched15 December 1991 (1991-12-15)
ClosedMarch 15, 2023 (2023-03-15)
Links
WebsiteStar World on Disney+ Hotstar

History
Logo used between: 2001-2006
Logo used between: 2006-2008

Star World was first launched in India on 15 December 1991 as a flagship feed of Star World Asia. Then known as StarPlus, it was the product of a partnership between Star TV and Zee Telefilms. In order to avoid competition within, the contract between the two conglomerates clearly encased the territories of operation for both networks: StarPlus exclusively aired English programming, with Zee TV being its Hindi-language counterpart. However, on facing severe losses and very little market growth, Star violated the terms of the contract by slowly incorporating more and more Hindi programming into its schedule. Zee took Star to court over violation of the non-competing clause and shortly after that Star's partnership with Zee was dissolved on 30 June 2000.

Consequently, Star TV split Star Plus' beam into two, in effect, providing two separate services for different regional audiences within Star TV's footprint. Star India took over the reins of the network in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, which enabled the channel to provide appropriate programming at accessible viewing time for audience across different regions of Asia. Subsequently, StarPlus was transformed into a Hindi-language general entertainment channel, with Star World becoming the network's English-language GEC.[1]

Initially, the channel followed a scheduling format similar to American networks, with new episodes of shows being aired on a weekly basis, a few days after their US telecast. This was altered in early-2010 to shows being aired on a daily basis Weekdays (Monday-Friday), to consolidate the channel's core viewership and appeal to the population of India. Thereafter, programming was classified into weekdays, weekends and late night slots, with new shows being brought in on a monthly basis throughout the year.[2]

The channel's high-definition feed was launched on 15 April 2011.[3]

Close down

On October 18, 2021, Disney announced that it would close down Star World and Star World Premiere HD, following similar decisions taken worldwide to close down English general entertainment channels.[4] This will leave its youth channel Disney International HD, which consists of live action Disney Channel programming the only English entertainment channel from the broadcaster. The shutdown was delayed several times and Star World resorted into showing Koffee with Karan most of the day in order to pass time till its shutdown, while Star World Premiere HD would air the show 24/7.

The channels were eventually closed on 15 March 2023.[5]

Programming
Main article: List of programmes broadcast by Star World

Star World primarily airs popular shows from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

Star also holds exclusive broadcast, as well as streaming rights to all of HBO's original programming in India.[6]

Programming blocks

Star World Weekend Binge

On 25 April 2015, STAR World launched its weekend special programming block known as the Star World Weekend Binge. The block's main features included the latest episodes critically acclaimed shows, airing throughout the day.[7][8][9]

Star World Now Trending

On 21 September 2016, Star World introduced a new programming block called Star World Now Trending where the latest seasons of the most popular American shows were aired. Highlights included Empire, The Blacklist, How to Get Away with Murder, Entourage, Homeland and Prison Break [10]

Star World 10 Tickles

Star World introduced a weeknight one-hour comedy block called Star World 10 Tickles on 4 October 2016.[11] Black-ish and New Girl were the first shows to be aired on this block. Later, the block was extended to weekends in November 2016 where the latest seasons of shows like 2 Broke Girls, Speechless, Modern Family and Son of Zorn were aired.

Shows That Are Gonna Explode (STAGE)

STAGE was launched in June 2019, to air underrated shows with potential on weeknights at 10 pm, within a fortnight of their US broadcast. The initial catalog of shows for this block included Warrior, True Detective, The Passage, Pose, Succession and Fosse/Verdon.[12][13]

References
  1. "Zee: Life after Star, and vice-versa". Equity Master. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  2. Joshi, Mitra. "STAR World alters programming schedule to suit Indian taste". Afaqs. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020.
  3. Bhushan, Nyay. "Star TV India Launches Five HD Channels". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  4. "Breaking News: Disney Star India exits English general entertainment; Star World, Star World HD and Star World Premiere HD to go off air by November 30". www.bestmediaifo.com. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  5. "Disney Star brings curtains down on English GECs; launches 9 new channels: Best Media Info". www.bestmediainfo.com. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  6. Bhushan, Nyay. "Fox's Star India Strikes Exclusive Deal for HBO Originals". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. "Star World to launch new property 'Star World Weekend Binge'". Television Post. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  8. "Star World unveils line-up for 'Weekend Binge'". Television Post. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  9. "Star World unleashes marketing blitzkrieg for 'Weekend Binge'". Indian Television. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  10. "'Star World Now Trending' has over eight new primetime shows". Best Media Info. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  11. Baddhan, Raj (12 September 2016). "Star World India to launch two new comedies in October". Biz Asia. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  12. "Star World brings S.T.A.G.E, a programming slot for TV shows from across world". Exchange4Media. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  13. "Star World looks to boost 10 pm slot with drama". Televisionpost. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
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