| Star World | |
| Area: | Middle East and North Africa Southeast Asia and Hong Kong (1991–2017) India and South Asia (2000–2023) Taiwan (2001–2020, 2022–2023) |
| Launch Date: |
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| Closed Date: |
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| Owner: | The Walt Disney Company EMEA (Disney Entertainment) |
| Language: | English |
| Former Names: | Star Entertainment Star Plus |
| Replaced By: | Fox Life BBC Lifestyle (Taiwan) |
| Replaced: | Fox Taiwan (relaunch) |
Star World (formerly known as Star Entertainment and Star Plus, visually rendered in its current logo in all capital letters) is an English language entertainment television channel originally launched on 15 December 1991 by Star TV in Hong Kong as the old iteration of Star Plus. Originally available in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, as well as India and South Asia, since 2024 it is only available in the Middle East and North Africa after the closure of the Indian and Taiwanese feeds.
On 30 March 1996, the channel was split into two, when the former became Star World in East and Southeast Asia part of STAR TV's rebranding, and the latter retained the Star Plus name in India and the Middle East. However, after Star (subsequently acquired by News Corporation) ended its partnership with Zee TV on 30 June 2000, Star Plus was transformed into a Hindi-language channel on 1 July 2000, with Star World being already introduced in the region as an English entertainment replacement.
The channel's programming line-up mostly consists of entertainment television programmes from the United States, the United Kingdom and sometimes Australia and New Zealand to appeal to English-speaking locals.[1]
Star World was first launched on 15 December 1991 as Star Entertainment with the first programme being The Bold and the Beautiful. The channel was an 24-hour English language general entertainment channel showed dramas, movie and variety shows from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand with Zee TV being the Hindi language general entertainment channel counterpart. The channel was broadcast across the continent of Asia, reaching from the Far East to the Middle East, as with AsiaSat 1's footprint. Star TV have since regionalised the channel to serve its huge viewerships. On 1 July 1992, Star Entertainment was renamed Star Plus.
Star Entertainment was also backed by two major Hollywood conglomerate film studios and television production companies including 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) and 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television).
On 1 May 1994, All movies that were backed by one major Hollywood conglomerate film studio, 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) were moved from Star Plus to Star Movies due to Star Movies' launch. Star Plus continue to be an English language general entertainment channel.
On 30 March 1996, the channel changed its logo from a previous logo used in 1993 to a box-type STAR symbol featuring a frame, a pentagram star, and a square. At the same time, STAR TV split Star Plus' beam into two, providing two separate services for different regional audiences within STAR TV's footprint. This enabled the channel to provide appropriate programming and viewing time for viewers from different Asian regions. Star Plus would serve viewers in India and the Middle East from then on, while the new Star World channel welcomed those in East and Southeast Asia. Star TV converted Star Plus into Hindi entertainment channel with some English content programming. Earlier, STAR TV had a joint venture with Zee Telefilms, uplinking Hindi channel Zee TV from Hong Kong. But that partnership with that channel ended on 30 June 2000, resulted from the new Star World channel as an English entertainment replacement on 1 July 2000 for India and the Middle East.
On 1 April 1999, Star World, Star Movies, Star Sports, Star Gold, Star Plus, and SCM would receive their first major logo change as part of STAR TV's brand refresh.
On 1 October 2017, the Hong Kong and Southeast Asian version of Star World was rebranded to Fox Life,[2] and shut down after exactly four years, on 1 October 2021.[3] On 1 February 2020, the Taiwanese feed closed and some programs were moved to Fox. On 1 January 2022, Star World replaced the Taiwanese feed of Fox, marking the return of the Star World brand in Taiwan. Disney, which had previously brought FOX International Networks, decided to launch Disney+ in more Asian markets, and decided to discontinue pay TV broadcasting, including Star World in Taiwan. The channel ceased for the second time on 1 January 2024,[4] [5] with BBC Lifestyle as its replacement.[6]
On 15 March 2023, the Indian version of Star World in both SD and HD feeds, as well as Star World Premiere HD, ceased broadcasting along with the launches and shutdowns of several other channels from Disney Star. As a result, Star World remains on air only in the Middle East and North Africa.
On 1 March 2024, Star World MENA underwent a rebranding and introduced a new logo and graphics package, along with five other Disney-operated channels in the region, many of which abandoned the Fox brand; moreover, its sister channel Star Movies shed its 2008 logo (still used in India) and introduced a new logo.[7]