Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific Limited, (formerly Satellite Television Asian Region Limited (from 2001 trading as Star TV, stylised as STAR TV, and then as Star until 2009), subsequently Fox International Channels Asia Pacific Limited and Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific Limited), is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

-based

commercial broadcasting Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (a ...

company operating multiple specialty television channels. The company is formerly part of the

Fox Networks Group Fox Networks Group (FNG) is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company that oversees international television assets that were acquired from 21st Century Fox. It produces and distributes more than 300 entertainment, film, sports and factual channe ...

, and is currently owned by Disney International Operations since March 2019. Originally established by

Hutchison Whampoa Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) was an investment holding company based in Hong Kong. It was a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL was an international corporation with a di ...

and later acquired by the original

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...

, Star TV was once the prominent satellite television broadcaster in the entire Asia region. On 20 March 2019, following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets, FNG Asia and Star India became a part of Disney, and FNG Asia Pacific merged with Disney Branded Television unit. DNG Asia Pacific's channels are available in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, and it previously served

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

History

Launch

The company was originally registered to the Companies Registry of Hong Kong as Quford Limited on 31 August 1990. The company was renamed Hutchvision Channel Services Limited on 31 January 1991, before becoming Satellite Television Asian Region Limited () on 4 July 1991. It was established by

(which also owned the health and beauty retailer

A.S. Watson Group A.S. Watson Group (or A.S. Watson or ASW) is the world's largest international health and beauty retailer, with over 16,000 stores in 27 markets worldwide serving over 5.3 billion customers every year, and over 137 million loyalty programme mem ...

at the time), and was headed by

Richard Li Richard Li Tzar-kai is a Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist. The founder and chairman of the private investment group Pacific Century Group (PCG), Li started his career in the 1990s with the founding of STAR TV, a pan-Asian television ...

(son of

Li Ka-Shing Sir Ka-shing Li (; born 13 June 1928) is a Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. As of June 2019, Li is the 31st richest person in the world, with an estimated net wealth of US$33.4 billion. He is the senior ad ...

, the founder of

Cheung Kong Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, is a multinational conglomerate, based in Hong Kong. It was one of Hong Kong's leading multi-national conglomerates. The company merged with its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa on 3 June 2015, as part of a ma ...

which owns Hutchison Whampoa). The company operated its television channels under a unified brand, Star TV (). In its initial years, the channels were broadcast over AsiaSat 1 communication satellite operated by Asia Satellite Telecommunications, which was a consortium of Hutchison Whampoa, China International Trust and Investment Corporation and Cable & Wireless Worldwide. As with the satellite's footprint, the channels reached from the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...

to the

. The Star TV Network's initial line-up of advertisement-supported five free-to-air channels at its launch were as follows: #

Prime Sports Prime Sports (originally known as the Prime Sports Network (PSN), and also known as Prime Network or simply Prime) is the collective name for a former group of regional sports networks in the United States that were owned by Liberty Media, op ...

(; launched on 26 August 1991): 24-hour multi-sport television channel broadcast in English and Chinese; joint venture with TCI in the United States which owned

Prime Network Prime Sports (originally known as the Prime Sports Network (PSN), and also known as Prime Network or simply Prime) is the collective name for a former group of regional sports networks in the United States that were owned by Liberty Media, op ...

. #

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

(; launched on 15 September 1991): 24-hour

music channel Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from recording artists, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite, cable, or Streaming Platforms. Music televisi ...

broadcast in English,

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

and Chinese, focused on

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

; joint venture with Viacom in the United States which owned the American TV channel of the same name. # BBC WSTV (; launched on 14 October 1991): 24-hour

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

current affairs Current affairs may refer to: News * ''Current Affairs'' (magazine) a bimonthly magazine of culture and politics. * Current affairs (news format): a genre of broadcast journalism * Current Affairs, former name for Behind the News Politics * An ...

and

information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random, ...

from the BBC; unlike the European counterpart, this version of BBC World Service Television did not air

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

entertainment programmes, as they were shown on

Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedi ...

. # Chinese Channel (; launched on 21 October 1991): 24-hour all full

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

entertainment channel that showcased full

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...

content provided by TVB and ATV in

broadcasts from

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

; also showed

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

from other

Greater China Greater China is an informal geographical area that shares commercial and cultural ties with the Han Chinese people. The notion of "Greater China" refers to the area that usually encompasses Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan in East ...

countries including

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. #

Entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

(; launched on 15 December 1991): 24-hour English language

entertainment channel which showed dramas and variety shows from

English-speaking Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

countries including United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. On 1 October 1992, Star TV added

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-ba ...

(which targeted

-speaking audiences) from Zee Telefilms in India to its line-up. In February 1993, Julian Mounter, former director-general of

Television New Zealand , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solo ...

, was appointed as president and Chief Executive of the company.Ilott, Terry
Mounter: prez, Hutchvision
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 8 February 1993 In March 1993, Star TV was offered to join ranks made by the

Asia Business News Asia Business News (ABN) was a business news television channel owned by Citibank Singapore. It was officially opening ceremony at grand opening or formally opening night in Singapore on 1 November 1993 at 7:00pm SST and based in Singapore. It ...

. In June 1993, Star TV and Wharf Cable signed a deal in which Hong Kong's new

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

provider would carry Star TV's channels. However, the deal was terminated in February 1994 in the carriage dispute between the two parties.

Sale to News Corporation

Star TV's viewership across Asia have increased over the years, and it attracted advertisers. But the business was making loss. The company has been looking for an

Anglophone Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

partner for financial investments, additional English language programming and technical assistance, especially to launch a pay-television system that would carry encrypted channels. By late April 1993, Pearson approached Star TV's owners, and was expected to pay up to GBP 100 million. Pearson (which owned minor stake in British broadcasters

BSkyB Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

and Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television at the time, and have just acquired

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

) has been looking to expand its media business outside the UK, especially because the British laws at that time did not allow Pearson to expand more on UK television business. Pearson was looking for the 66% of the company, but the deal was reported to have required the Hong Kong side to remain active shareholders, making the deal to be turned down. The initial negotiations with

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

were reported to have foundered after the Australian businessman demanded a controlling stake in the Hong Kong company. But in July 1993, Murdoch's

purchased 63.6% of Star TV for US$525 million, half in cash, half in News Corporation's ordinary shares, blocking offers from Pearson. The deal came after News Corporation failed to acquire 22% of TVB because of regulatory issues.Tam, Luisa
News buys Star TV
''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' 27 July 1993 ''SCMP'' was owned by

at the time of announcement. News Corporation acquired the remaining 36.4% for US$299 million in July 1995.Kennedy, Sean
Mogul takes all of Star
''

'' 19 July 1995Murdoch Takes Over Star
''

'' 24 July 1995 Li family and Hutchison Whampoa would retain its shares in Hutchvision Hong Kong Limited, which uplinked Star TV's channels. With the amount of money made from the 1993 sale, Richard Li went on to establish his own venture, Pacific Century Group.Courtney, Christine
Hong Kong Rich Kid Turns Asia on Its Headset : Media: Richard Li declines family job to found satellite-TV venture. Next goal is pan-Asian 'information exchange.'
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' 11 April 1994 In August 1993, following News Corporation's takeover, Julian Mounter resigned as Chief Executive of the company. Sam Chisholm, who was the head of

at the time, became acting Chief Executive before he was formally appointed. With the controversial removal of BBC World Service Television from the company's satellite television offerings for

Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical subregion of Asia; its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by American historian and political scient ...

in 1994 (discussed

below Below may refer to: *Earth * Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) *Less than *Temperatures below freezing *Hell or underworld People with the surname *Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general *Fred Below ...

), Star TV replaced the BBC channel with two channels; English-language film channel Star Movies and Chinese-language film channel Star Chinese Movies. Star TV and Viacom (

) ended partnership that supplied music television programming, so Star TV launched

Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney ...

to replace the American brand. The Indian version was launched in May 1994, it was followed by four additional versions: Channel V International, Channel V Thailand, Channel V Korea, Channel V Japan, and another three versions in

, Vietnamese and

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

. On 30 March 1996 at 7 pm

Hong Kong Time Hong Kong Time (abbreviation: HKT; ) is the time in Hong Kong, observed at UTC+08:00 all year round. The Hong Kong Observatory is the official timekeeper of the Hong Kong Time. It is indicated as Asia/Hong_Kong in the IANA time zone database. ...

, Star TV split into Star Plus and Star Chinese Channel by certain areas: *

would continue to serve viewers in

and the

, while

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

viewers would receive the newly relaunched

Star World Star World (formerly known as Star Plus) is an English language entertainment television channel originally launched on 15 December 1991 as Star Entertainment () by STAR TV in Hong Kong as the old iteration of Star Plus. On 30 March 1996, th ...

channel. *

Star Chinese Channel Star Chinese Channel () is a Taiwanese general entertainment television channel operated by The Walt Disney Company (Taiwan) Ltd. Its programming features drama, variety, lifestyle, and talk shows in Mandarin. Launched on 21 October 1991 at 16:30 ...

would still be available to the viewers in

, but the television watchers in

and the

would get the new Phoenix Chinese Channel instead. On 6 May 1996, Star TV launched Viva Cinema, the 24-hour Filipino film channel, in partnership with

Viva Entertainment Viva Communications Inc., formerly known as Viva Entertainment Inc. and simply Viva, is a Philippine media and entertainment company headquartered in Pasig City. It was founded on November 11, 1981, by Vic del Rosario and his sister Tess Cruz. ...

. STAR later exited from the partnership and did not renew their contract, and the channel was relaunched as Pinoy Box Office on 1 August 2003. In October 1996, Star Sports (since renamed from Prime Sports) and ESPN Asia have agreed to combine their loss making operations in Asia. The new joint venture, later named ESPN Star Sports, would be headquartered in Singapore (where ESPN's operations in Asia were based in). In 1997, Star TV launched

Star Select A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth mak ...

package of television channels targeting the

via the Orbit (now OSN) service. On 18 February 1998, Star TV launched

Star News ABP News is an Indian Hindi-language free-to-air television news channel owned by ABP Group. The news channel was launched in 1998 originally as STAR News before being acquired by ABP Group. It won the Best Hindi News Channel award in the 21 ...

, a news channel targeting India, in partnership with

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...

. It switched partner to ABP Group in 2003, before

Star India Disney Star Private Limited is an Indian media conglomerate and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Disney Star network runs more than 70 TV channels in eight languages, rea ...

completely gave up and sold their share in 2012. In May 1999, Star TV migrated its services from AsiaSat 1 and 2 to AsiaSat 3S. On 15 January 2000, STAR TV added

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

, as the company handling it's distribution and ad sales for the channel, it marks the second partnership with

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...

, which also owned ESPN. On 1 July 2000, Zee TV ended partnership with Star TV. The Hong Kong-based company converted Star Plus to a Hindi entertainment channel, and introduced Star World in the area as an English entertainment replacement. On New Year's Day (1 January) 2001 at midnight stroke, the company rebranded from Star TV to Star, reflecting the company's evolution from a television brand to a multi-service, multi-platform brand. In Chinese, the company referred itself as ''Xīngkōng Chuánméi'' () instead of ''Wèixīng Diànshì'' from then on. It introduced a new set of logos. The logo scheme of the Star network (the name of the channel next to the Star logo icon, contained within a rectangle with two opposite corners rounded) that had been used throughout 2007.

2009 restructure, refocus on East and Southeast Asia

On 19 August 2009, News Corporation announced a restructure of Star. Star India and Star Greater China would be separated from Star's headquarters in Hong Kong, and the heads of the former two companies would report directly to James Murdoch, News Corporation's then-Chairman and Chief Executive for Europe and Asia. *

took over all of Star's operations in India, as well as sales and distribution of Fox-branded channels in the region. It also took over Star's distribution offices in the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States. * Star Greater China would oversee

, Star Chinese Movies, Star Chinese Movies 2, Xing Kong and

Mainland China, as well as Fortune Star film library. * The original Star TV company became Fox International Channels Asia Pacific, and would now focus on East and Southeast Asia. It also took over the representation of FIC channels from NGC Network Asia, LLC (the channels that were distributed by Star anyway). The company would continue to distribute its channels in the Middle East, and would take responsibility of the distribution of Star India and Star Greater China's channels in Asia outside their home markets. Despite the 2009 reorganisations, the company did not immediately change its legal name from Satellite Television Asian Region Limited. It only changed legal name to Fox International Channels Asia Pacific Limited () on 2 September 2014. In August 2010, it was announced that News Corporation would sell a controlling stake in its assets in mainland China to

China Media Capital China Media Capital ( Chinese: 华人文化) is a public equity and venture capital firm specializing in growth capital, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, corporate restructuring, management buyouts, and mergers & acquisitions. The fir ...

(CMC).Young, Doug
News Corp sells controlling stake in China TV channels

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

9 August 2010Chu, Karen
News Corp. sells Chinese-language channels to CMC

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

9 August 2010 (via ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'')Coonan, Clifford
China Media Capital buys Star China
''

'' 9 August 2010 Xing Kong (both domestic and international versions) and Channel V Mainland China, plus Fortune Star film library were in the sale, and a joint venture named

Star China Media Star China Media () is a Chinese media company currently owned by China Media Capital. The company operates television channels Xing Kong and Channel V Mainland China, and maintains Fortune Star film library. Its businesses were previously ...

was created in the process. CMC acquired the remaining stake in Star China Media in January 2014. In June 2012, it was announced that News Corporation would buy ESPN International's share in the joint venture ESPN Star Sports. The versions of ESPN broadcast in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia were rebranded as Fox Sports on 28 January 2013, and Star Sports became Fox Sports 2 on 15 August 2014. The Fox Sports rebrand did not affect India and East Asia: In India, Star India took over ESPN Star Sports' Indian subsidiary, and kept the ESPN name until 6 November 2013, when all of Star India's sports channels were relaunched under the Star Sports brand; a version of Star Sports broadcast to mainland China and South Korea kept the brand, and instead, the version of ESPN for mainland China was renamed Star Sports 2 on 1 January 2014. In the wake of

2011 News Corporation scandals In mid-2011, out of a series of investigations following up the ''News of the World'' royal phone hacking scandal of 2005–2007, a series of related scandals developed surrounding other News Corporation properties—where initially the scandal a ...

, the original News Corporation was split into

21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, fo ...

and the new

News Corp News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the original News Corporation, it was formed on June 28, 2013, following a ...

on 28 June 2013, with the television businesses (which FIC Asia was a part of) going to 21st Century Fox. In October 2013, 12.15% of share in

Phoenix Television Phoenix Television is a majority state-owned television network that offers Mandarin and Cantonese-language channels that serve mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and other markets with substantial Chinese-language viewers. It is operated by ...

held by 21st Century Fox (through Star) was sold to TPG Capital for HK$1.66 billion (about US$213.73 million). This and 2014 sale of Star China Media marked 21st Century Fox's exit from Mandarin entertainment television market in mainland China. By 2014, Fox International Channels Middle East took over the distribution of Star World, Star Movies,

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

-branded channels, Fox-branded channels,

International, Baby TV and Sky News in the

Middle East and North Africa MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

from

. (Now renamed Fox Networks Group Middle East, the Middle East business is, together with FNG Asia Pacific, still a part of the wider FNG Asia operations.) In January 2016, the company's parent unit, Fox International Channels, was announced to be split into three divisions, which would see the heads of newly renamed Fox Networks Group Europe, Fox Networks Group Latin America and Fox Networks Group Asia all reporting to CEO

Peter Rice Peter Rice (16 June 1935 – 25 October 1992) was an Irish structural engineer. Born in Dublin, he grew up in 52 Castle Road, Dundalk in County Louth, and spent his childhood between the town of Dundalk, and the villages of Gyles' Quay and In ...

and COO

Randy Freer Randy Freer (born 1959/1960) is an American television executive, and the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Hulu. Early life Freer attended Saint Joseph's College of Maine in Standish, Maine and graduated with degrees in business and hist ...

at Fox Networks Group in the United States, thus abolishing Fox International Channels as a separate unit from 21st Century Fox's television business in the U.S. Accordingly, the company changed legal name to Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific Limited () on 29 February 2016. On 5 December 2017,

's Chairman and CEO Uday Shankar was appointed as 21st Century Fox's president for Asia, and the President of Fox Networks Group Asia would report directly to Shankar (instead of the equivalent at FNG U.S.).

Disney ownership and channel operations closure

With the acquisition of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets by

, FNG Asia Pacific (including FNG Taiwan, and FNG's remaining businesses in mainland China), as well as Star India, became a part of Disney and FNG Asia were integrated into Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International (now Disney International Operations) unit. Fox Networks Group Asia was split into three, as to plug into the Disney International structure with offices in Shanghai (Northern Asia), Mumbai (India) and Singapore (Southeast Asia). The reconfiguration and layoff began on 29 June 2020 with layoff focused on FNG Asia's Hung Hom, Kowloon headquarters, which dates back to the 1993 acquisition by a 21st Century Fox predecessor of PCCW. On 27 April 2021, The Walt Disney Company announced it was officially ceasing broadcast and transmission of all 18 cable channels effective 1 October 2021 at 01:00am HKT. This included

Fox Sports Asia Fox Sports (formerly ESPN Star Sports) was a pan-Asian pay television network broadcasting in Asia, operated by Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) Pte. Ltd. It also oversaw a version of ...

, which broadcast

Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

and

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

alongside with all four major Grand Slams and even most UFC fights at the time, and also Fox Movies Asia (including Fox Action Movies and Fox Family Movies), which no longer aired Walt Disney Studios films in early 2021 as they prioritized the rollout for

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

(or

Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar (also known as Hotstar) is an Indian brand of subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, both d ...

for Southeast Asian countries outside Singapore and Philippines).Multiple sources: * * * Under this plan,

(including National Geographic Wild),

and Star Chinese Movies will remain on-air, as most of Fox Sports programming are relocated to other sports broadcasters following the shutdown, such as the newly launched

SPOTV SPOTV is a South Korean pay television network, which features sports programming and some sports-related talk shows. Founded in 2010, the network is the fourth non-'free-to-air' broadcaster in South Korea alongside KBS N Sports, MBC Sports+ a ...

(which immediately replace Fox Sports network and has acquired rights for MotoGP, WorldSBK, Wimbledon and the US Open) and another Fox Sports rival BeIN Sports (which now owns rights for the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...

and the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...

/Roland-Garros along with Formula 1 starting 2023), while Disney & 20th Century Studios films, especially to newer releases, shift to Disney+ (or Disney+ Hotstar) content hub. The rest of general entertainment content, including various series from Disney's television production groups ( ABC Signature and

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...

) and other third-party productions (including the co-production with their television production groups), are either shift to Disney+/Disney+ Hotstar or through Fox's rival channels/streaming platform, such as Lifetime (which also part-owned by Disney through its 50% stake in

A&E Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...

AXN AXN is a pay television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Funded th ...

, Rock Entertainment,

TrueVisions TrueVisions is a cable and satellite television operator in Thailand. TrueVisions is owned by the True Corporation. Until February 2007, it was called the United Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), or UBC-True. History International Broadcasting ...

(True Series), Now TV (Now Studio),

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

, Catchplay+, etc. This caused some of their employees, including Singapore-based marketing leads Daniel Tan and Shoba Martin, to leave the company following the cable TV operation shutdown.Multiple sources: * * The decision has been criticized due to poor Internet connectivity in some areas alongside with no launch plans for Disney+ in some smaller markets, especially in some parts of Southeast Asia where the channels operate. In Taiwan, Disney Channel officially ceased broadcast and transmission on New Year's Day (1 January) 2022 at midnight stroke NST as officially moved and shift to focus on

, while Fox Movies Taiwan and Fox Taiwan were rebranded as Star Movies Gold and

, respectively. This marked the only country with Disney/Fox channels operating under the Star brand, alongside existing Star Chinese Movies and Star Chinese Channel. On 1 October 2021, Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific Limited was officially renamed Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific Limited.

List of channels provided

Current

– a 24-hour Mandarin general entertainment channel for audiences in Taiwan and beyond. It is one of the five original Star TV channels when it launched on 21 October 1991. It currently broadcasts on two signals for Taiwan and international audiences. * Star Chinese Movies – a 24-hour Cantonese and Mandarin movie channel. Was split off from Star Chinese Channel and launched on 1 May 1994 as "Star Mandarin Movies" and re-launched on 30 March 1996 as "Star Chinese Movies". It currently broadcasts on two signals for Taiwan and Hong Kong, and international audiences. *Star Entertainment Channel – An alternative channel available on CHT MOD and certain cable TV providers in Taiwan. * Star Movies Gold and Star Movies HD – a 24-hour HD English movie channels available only in Taiwan. Star Movies Gold and Star Movies HD have its own programming and logo. * Star World Taiwan – a 24-hour English entertainment channel relaunched on 1 January 2022. *

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney General ...

– a 24-hour channel available in HD and now officially shift its ownership to

National Geographic Partners National Geographic Partners, LLC is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns 73% of shares) and the namesake non-profit scientific organization National Geographic Society (which owns 27%). The company oversees all commercial ...

in which Disney held the majority stake. *

Nat Geo Wild National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%) ...

– a 24-hour channel available in HD and now officially shift its ownership to

in which Disney held the majority stake. *

BabyTV BabyTV (stylised as Baby''tv'') is a multilingual international television channel for babies, toddlers and preschoolers aged 3 or lower, owned by Fox Networks Group, a subsidiary of the Disney International Content and Operations division of T ...

– the first 24-hour commercial-free channel for children under pre-schoolers. This channel is now available worldwide.

Former

* Fox – a 24-hour Southeast Asian entertainment channel. * FX – a 24-hour channel offering a broad mix programming targeted at male audiences including comedy, action sports, drama series, reality shows, cars and swimsuit model programs. It was available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. *

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

– a 24-hour sports channel. * Fox Life – a 24-hour channel offering broad programming of television series, sitcoms and movies programs. It was available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. * Fox Movies – a 24-hour English movie channel which was available in Macau, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Singapore, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Maldives, Cambodia, Brunei, Fiji, Guam, Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The Taiwan feed of Fox Movies was rebranded to Star Movies Gold on January 1, 2022. * Fox Action Movies * Fox Family Movies – a 24-hour Southeast Asian movie channel. *

Fox Crime Fox Crime (stylized as FOXCRIME) is a television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group, which airs across several countries of Europe, Africa and Asia such as Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Its basic programming include nume ...

– the first and only 24-hour factual and fictional entertainment television channel dedicated to crime, investigation and mystery. Available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, the Middle East and South Korea. *

Nat Geo People Nat Geo People was an international pay television channel owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). Targeted at female audiences, with programming fo ...

– formerly known as A1 and Nat Geo Adventure. * Star Sports – a 24-hour sports channel available only in Mainland China. * Star Chinese Movies Legend – (formerly known as STAR Chinese Movies 2) a 24-hour Cantonese and Mandarin movie channel that shows popular Chinese box-office hits from the 1970 until 1993. It is currently available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Macau, Indonesia, the Middle East and Malaysia. *

– 24-hour pan-Asian pay TV channel which was available in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. *

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven ...

– 24-hour southeast Asian pay TV channel which was available in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. * Channel /nowiki> – a 24-hour international music video channel. There were local versions of Channel in Hong Kong, Macau, the People's Republic of China, Taiwan (the Republic of China), the Philippines, India, Thailand, and Australia. * Fox Filipino – a 24-hour Filipino language general entertainment channel broadcast in the Philippines. * tvN – a 24-hour Korean language entertainment channel managed by

CJ E&M CJ E&M (Hangul: 씨제이이앤엠, an initialism for CJ Entertainment & Media) is a South Korean entertainment and mass media company created by CJ Group in 2011. As of July 2018, CJ E&M is a division of CJ ENM. History CJ E&M was established a ...

, available to audiences in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. * Xing Kong – also known as Star Space, is a Mandarin general entertainment channel in People's Republic of China. It was available in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Middle East, India, and Indonesia. * Phoenix Chinese Channel – a 24-hour Mandarin international news and entertainment channel it was launched on 30 March 1996. Available in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. *

Phoenix InfoNews Channel Phoenix InfoNews Channel is a Hong Kong pay television news channel owned by Phoenix Television. It is the first channel to report news across the Greater China region, which includes mainland China, Macau, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The channel firs ...

– a 24-hour Mandarin international news channel it was launched on 1 January 2001. Available on Worldwide *

Phoenix Movies Channel Phoenix Movies Channel is one of the six channels that Phoenix Television operates. It was launched on August 28, 1998, and serves as an encrypted pay-television service. Currently the encrypted signal is beamed via AsiaSat 3S across China, Viet ...

– a 24-hour Mandarin movie channel in People's Republic of China it was launched on 28 August 1998. Available in China and the Middle East. *

Phoenix Hong Kong Channel Phoenix Hong Kong Channel is one of the six channels that Phoenix Television operates. It was launched on 28 March 2011 in order to serve Chinese viewers in Hong Kong, and it is Phoenix Television's first Yue Chinese-language channel that is avai ...

– a 24-hour Cantonese news and entertainment channel in Hong Kong it was launched on 28 March 2011. Available on Hong Kong, Asia Pacific (Except ASEAN), Middle East, Australia, and the USA. * antv – an Indonesian national private commercial free-to-air terrestrial television channel in Indonesia. * Viva Cinema – a Filipino Movie Channel from

Viva Films Viva Films is a Philippine film production company established under Viva Communications. It was founded on November 11, 1981, by Vic del Rosario Jr. History Veering away from the Sharon Cuneta- Gabby Concepcion tandem, Viva became home to q ...

in the Philippines subsidiary of

. * BBC World Service Television (now BBC World News) – a 24-hour English news channel and one of the original Star TV channels when it launched on 14 October 1991. It was a joint venture between BBC World News and Star TV, a subsidiary of BBC International Television, a member of BBC Television, and owned by BBC. It ended its affiliation on 31 March 1996 to broadcast separate ways. *

(now ABP News) – a 24-hour Hindi and English news channel in India was launched on 18 February 1998. *

MTV Asia MTV was a pan-Asian music pay-television channel which launched on 3 May 1995 as a standalone pay television channel. It was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History MTV Asia was officially launched on 3 May 1995 as a 24-hour English-languag ...

– a 24-hour music video channel and one of the original Star TV channels when it launched on 15 September 1991 a joint venture between MTV Networks Asia Pacific owned by Viacom and Star TV; but it ended its affiliation on 2 May 1994 to broadcast separate ways and was replaced by

. *

– a 24-hour English and Mandarin sports channel and one of the original Star TV channels when it launched on 21 August 1991 a joint venture between Prime Network and Star TV; but it ended its affiliation 30 March 1996 to broadcast separate ways and it was replaced by Star Sports. * Film Indonesia – a 24-hour Indonesian movie channel. * Star Channel – a 24-hour Japanese movie channel. *

– a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel. * Star Plus Japan – a 24-hour Japanese entertainment channel. *

TechTV TechTV is a defunct 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming ...

– a 24-hour computer channel. It was formerly seen in the Middle East via Star Select. * EL TV – a 24-hour Hindi entertainment channel. EL TV ended its relationship with Star TV in 1999. *

– a 24-hour Hindi entertainment channel.

Zee Network Zee Entertainment Enterprises (formerly Zee Telefilms) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by Essel Group. Headquartered in Mumbai, it has interests in television, print, internet, film, businesses related to mobile contents, and operates ...

ended its relationship with Star TV in 1999. * Zee Cinema – a 24-hour Hindi movie channel. Zee Network ended its relationship with Star TV in 1999. *

CNBC Asia CNBC Asia is a pay television business channel based in Singapore. A subsidiary of NBCUniversal, it is the Asian service of CNBC (Consumer News and Business Channel). Its programmes originate from Singapore. It was officially opening ceremony at ...

– a 24-hour English business news channel launched on 20 June 1995, this channel terminated within 2006 replacing CNBC Europe. It was formerly available in the Middle East via Star Select. * CNBC Europe – a 24-hour English business news channel, formerly available on Star Select in the Middle East. This channel was terminated on 31 March 2007. * The History Channel – a 24-hour history and biography channel in India. This channel was relaunched as Fox History and Entertainment in November 2008. *

Jetix Jetix (stylized as 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 ...

– a 24-hour kids channel, formerly available on Star Select in the Middle East. This channel was terminated on 30 November 2008. * Channel V Korea – a music channel, the South Korean affiliate of Channel V, launched on 16 June 2001. The channel was temporarily shut down on 31 December 2008. *

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...

– a 24-hour American international news channel and it was launched on 7 October 1996. *

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the he ...

– a British international news channel available on Europe and Asia Pacific. *

ITV Granada ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

– a 24-hour British entertainment from

ITV plc ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. ITV plc is listed on th ...

now only available on Star Select in the Middle East, dropped from the line-up in the rest of Asia in 2002. It was formerly known as Granada UKTV and Granada TV. * ESPN Star Sports – a 24-hour sports channel with broadcast by ESPN Star Sports (ESS) a joint venture with ESPN International. * ESPNews Asia – a 24-hour sports news channel. * Asianet – a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel and was launched on 30 August 1993. * Asianet Plus – a 24-hour Indian movie channel. It was launched on 23 July 2005. * Asianet Movies – a 24-hour Indian movie channel. It was launched on 15 July 2012. *

Star World Asia Star World (formerly known as Star Plus) is an English language entertainment television channel originally launched on 15 December 1991 as Star Entertainment () by STAR TV in Hong Kong as the old iteration of Star Plus. On 30 March 1996, th ...

– a 24-hour English entertainment channel with to Southeast Asia and one of the five original Star TV channels when it launched on 15 December 1991 as "Star Plus" and re-launched on 31 March 1996 as "Star World". *

Star Vijay Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India), a subsidiary of Asianet Star Communications. The channel's headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Star Vijay change ...

– a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel. It was launched on 24 November 1994. * Star Gold – a 24-hour Indian movie channel. It was launched on 17 September 2000. *

Star Maa Star Maa (formerly Maa TV) is an Indian Telugu language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The channel telecasts Telugu language programmes such as serials, reali ...

– a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel. It was launched in 2002. * Star Utsav – a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel. It was launched on 7 June 2004. *

Star Suvarna Star Suvarna is an Indian Kannada language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The channel telecasts Kannada language programmes such as d ...

– a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel. It was launched on 17 June 2007. *

Star Jalsha Star Jalsha is an Indian Bengali language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It broadcasts Bengali-language programming, such as family dr ...

– a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel. It was launched on 8 September 2008. *

Star Pravah Star Pravah is an Indian Marathi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It was launched on 24 November 2008. Its programming consis ...

– a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel. It was launched on 24 November 2008. * Movies OK – a 24-hour Indian movie channel. It was launched on 6 May 2012. * Star Maa Music – a 24-hour Indian music channel. It was launched on 18 May 2012. *

Star World Premiere Star World is an Indian pay television channel launched on 15 December 1991. Originally scheduled to shut down on 30 November 2021, the shutdown of Star World and its HD feed has been not continued due to the delay of TRAI's new tariff rules. S ...

– a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel that aired popular shows from the United States and was launched on 24 September 2013. * Star Suvarna Plus – a 24-hour Indian movie channel. It was launched on 14 August 2013. *

Star Jalsha Movies Jalsha Movies is an Indian Bengali-Language Movie channel owned by Disney Star. It was launched on 16 December 2012 as a sister channel of Bengali-language network Star Jalsha. It launched its own HD feed on 14 April 2016. Star Jalsha Movies is ...

– a 24-hour Indian entertainment channel and was launched on 24 September 2013.

Criticism and controversy

Removal of BBC WSTV from line-up

The BBC and Star TV originally signed a deal that the Hong Kong operator would carry the BBC channel for 10 years. But in March 1994, the BBC and Star TV reached a deal after an out of court settlement, that would gradually drop BBC World Service Television from the satellite broadcaster's offerings. BBC WSTV would be dropped from the channel line-up for the Northeast Asia by mid-April that year, but would be available in the rest of Asia until 31 March 1996.Murdoch's STAR TV to drop BBC
UPI 22 March 1994 The deal came after such demands from the government of the People's Republic of China. It is alleged that the PRC government was unhappy with BBC coverage of China, and Murdoch's September 1993 speech which declared "(telecommunications) have proved an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere ... satellite broadcasting makes it possible for information-hungry residents of many closed societies to bypass state-controlled television channels", so the Beijing government threatened to block Star TV in the huge

mainland Chinese Mainland Chinese or Mainlanders are Chinese people who live in or have recently emigrated from mainland China, defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) except for Hong Kong ( SAR of the PRC), Macau (SAR of the PRC), ...

market if the BBC was not withdrawn. The former prime minister

Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...

requested and obtained the ban of satellite dishes throughout the country. There were also reported concerns surrounding editorial control of BBC WSTV after News Corporation's acquisition of Star TV. The subsequent removal of the BBC channel, and many ensuing declaration from Murdoch, led critics to believe the businessman was striving to appease the Chinese government in order to have the ban lifted.

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive left-leaning media critique organization based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1986 by Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. FAIR monitors American news media for bias, inaccu ...

(FAIR) gave Rupert Murdoch a mock award titled "P.U.-litzer Prize" for "Media Hypocrite of the Year" in 1994. In 2001, the BBC and CITVC signed a deal which would make

BBC World BBC World News is an International broadcasting, international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a State-owned enterprise, public corporation of the Governme ...

available to "upmarket hotels, as well as guest houses and foreign apartments" in mainland China.

Notes

References

External links

Disney Networks Group
in Taiwan * : The startv.com domain is now owned by

. *
Star TV
at the

Museum of Broadcast Communications The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is an American museum, the stated mission of which is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain through our arc ...

's Encyclopedia of Television {{Philippine cable channels Television stations in Hong Kong Mass media companies established in 1990 Mass media companies disestablished in 2021 Television stations in Taiwan

Asia Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...

History

Launch

Sale to News Corporation

2009 restructure, refocus on East and Southeast Asia

Disney ownership and channel operations closure

List of channels provided

Current

Former

Criticism and controversy

Removal of BBC WSTV from line-up

See also

Notes

References

External links