 | |
| Broadcast area | Middle East and North Africa |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV 16:9) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company EMEA (Disney Entertainment) |
| History | |
| Launched | March 1, 2024 |
Star Channels is a multiplex suite of premium Middle Eastern and North African subscription television channels owned by The Walt Disney Company EMEA. Its programming consisted mostly of non-dubbed movies and series with Arabic subtitles.
The network started launching in Middle East on January 24, 2006, by Fox International Channels EMEA with the launch of Fox Series and on March 1, 2011, the channel was renamed as Fox. [1] [2] The suite was built as Star Channels on March 1, 2024, as Disney de-emphasized use of the Fox brand. [3] [4] [5]
On February 2, 2024, Disney announced that they would rebrand the Fox branded channels in Middle East to Star on March 1, 2024, as it pushed the Star branding from regional Asian use to worldwide outside of North America to avoid brand licensing fees to Fox Corporation for the continued use of the Fox trademark on active television networks, with "Star Series" and "Star Action" name were re-used from the defunct Latin American Star Premium multiple suits of television channels. [6]
| Image | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 | Star Action | Action and horror films |
 | Star Life | Local and global unscripted lifestyle content |
 | Star Films | Hollywood films |
 | Star Series | First-run series and new episodes for acclaimed series |
 | Star Movies | Same as Star Films |
 | Star World | Fashion shows, comedy series and mix-up of unscripted shows and dramas |
Star World 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.
Jetix was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action/adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated from the Saban Entertainment library, airing live-action and animated series with some original programming. The channel's target audience was older children and adolescents aged 8–15.
Star Movies is an Asian-based pay television channel owned by Disney Entertainment. Star Movies was originally launched in 1994 as a single channel broadcast across Asia, but it has regionalized into different localized channels since then. Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific have since rebranded some of the network's international feeds in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia as Fox Movies, but retains the Star Movies brand in the Middle East & South Asia.
Disney Branded Television is an American television production company and a unit of Disney General Entertainment Content which oversees development, production and acquisition of content geared towards children, teenagers and families for Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Jr. and Disney XD. The unit also oversees Disney-branded unscripted series, documentaries and specials for Disney+ and the Disney channels.
Fox Networks Group (FNG), formerly known as Fox International Channels (FIC) in the United States, was the television networks division of News Corporation and later 21st Century Fox that operated from 1993 to 2024. It oversaw the production, broadcasting and distribution of the Fox, Fox Sports, National Geographic and BabyTV brands in the United States and over 1.725 billion households globally. The division also operated video on demand services Fox Play and Fox Plus.
Jetix Europe N.V. was a European television broadcasting company that owned children's television channels and programming blocks across the Europe and Middle East, such as Jetix and Jetix Play.
Disney Channel is a children's pay television channel owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company Limited, the international business division of the Walt Disney Company serving television markets across the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Greece, Cyprus, the Baltics, and most of the Balkans.
Star Channel is a brand name used by a number of different television channels throughout the world owned by Disney Entertainment, a division of The Walt Disney Company as a replacement of Fox. Star Channel was originally established as a television channel in Latin America, but has expanded worldwide.
Fox was a pan-Asian pay television channel, owned and operated by Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of Disney International Operations.
Cartoon Network is one of two digital children's television channels that air animated series: Cartoon Network MENA, which serves the Middle East and North Africa division along with Greece and Cyprus; and Cartoon Network Africa, which exclusively serves Sub-Saharan Africa. Both feeds are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery under its International division.
Fox Movies was an international brand of movie channels owned by Fox Networks Group, a part of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. The channel was launched on February 8, 2007.
Disney Star is an Indian media conglomerate owned by Disney India, which is the Indian regional subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Disney Star runs more than 70 television channels in eight languages, reaching out to 9 out of 10 cable and satellite television homes in India. The network reaches approximately 790 million viewers a month across India and more than 100 countries. Disney Star generates more than 30,000 hours of content every year. Disney Star is the largest television and entertainment network in India.
Fox Action Movies was a Southeast Asian pay television channel centered towards broadcasting action-themed and horror-themed films. It is owned by Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific. The channel's feed-in India was rebranded as Star Movies Action on 2 June 2013 while the Asian counterpart continued broadcasting. 5.1 Dolby Sound is available on HD channel only.
Star Series is a Middle Eastern and North African pay television channel that was launched on 1 March 2011 as joint venture between News Corporation and Rotana Media Services.
Star Premium was a multiplex suite of premium Latin American subscription television channels owned by The Walt Disney Company Latin America. The network competed with HBO Latin America and its programming consisted mostly of non-dubbed movies and series with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
Cartoonito is a brand name used by Warner Bros. Discovery for a collection of television networks and programming blocks aimed at preschool children. The name combines the "cartoon" with the Spanish suffix "ito", meaning "small".
H2 is a brand name owned by A&E Networks, used for a sister television channel of History. The brand was debuted in September 2011 when History International in the United States was relaunched as H2. The brand was expanded outside the U.S. since then. H2 in the United States was relaunched on February 29, 2016 as Viceland, but the H2 brand is still used for sister channels to History in other markets.
FX is an international television channel brand stemming from the eponymous American standard or premium cable television channel and is owned by FX Networks, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company.
Star Life is an international pay television network, owned by Disney Entertainment, a division of The Walt Disney Company, as a replacement to Fox Life. The network has been discontinued in Latin America, and is currently active in the Middle East, Portugal, Bulgaria, India, South Africa, and Balkans.
Star Films is a Middle Eastern pay television movie channel that was launched in 2008, as joint venture between News Corporation and Rotana Media Services.