Star Select

Last updated

Star Select
TypePrivately held company
IndustryMedia
Founded1997
Headquarters Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Products Direct-broadcast satellite
Owner The Walt Disney Company

Star Select was a package of specialty television channels offered to the audiences in the Middle East and North Africa, originally operated by Star TV and later by Star India.

History

Based in Hong Kong, Star TV's television channels were broadcast across Asia, from the Far East to the Middle East, through AsiaSat satellites. But Star TV have regionalised their television offerings since then.

Former Star Select logo used until 2012 Star select.jpg
Former Star Select logo used until 2012

The Star Select package of television channels was launched in the Middle East in 1997 with six subscription-based channels. At launch, the channels were broadcast over Nilesat 101 at 7.0°W. The package was mainly consisted of Star TV's channels plus those from fellow News Corporation companies (like Fox News, Fox Sports and Sky News), but the channels from other companies (like CNBC Asia, Granada UKTV and The History Channel) were also included.

The package was originally carried by Orbit (later merged with Showtime Arabia in 2009 to form OSN), but in January 2002, the channels were migrated to ART's ADD platform. [1] [2] [3]

By 2014, Fox International Channels Middle East took over the distribution of Star World, Star Movies, National Geographic-branded channels, Fox-branded channels, Channel V International, Baby TV and Sky News in the region, and only certain channels from Star India (plus ABP News, which was no longer owned by Star India by the time) remained in the package.

As of 2018, the television channels from Star India are still available on television providers in the Middle East and North Africa, but Star Select is no longer offered as neither a stand alone package nor a direct-to-home satellite service on its own. The company no longer runs any dedicated website for the region.

Channels

During its final years as a stand alone package, Star Select offered the following television channels:

Previously, the following channels used to be offered by Star Select:

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References

  1. "Orbit's Star loss turns into "golden opportunity"". Via Satellite. November 7, 2001. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. "Star Select pay-TV joins ADD's Middle East platform". MENA Report. January 7, 2002. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  3. Waller, Ed (January 16, 2002). "Star Select migrates to ADD". C21 Media. Retrieved January 16, 2019.