Star Channel (formerly SuomiTV and later Fox) is a Finnish entertainment TV channel owned and operated by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

through its local subsidiary The Walt Disney Company Nordic AB, filial i Finland (formerly Family Channel Oy, Fox International Channels Oy and Fox Networks Group Oy). The channel was acquired by FNG Nordic (then known as FIC Nordic) in January 2012, and then relaunched as its current incarnation on 16 April that year. Star Channel is freely available in Finland both over-the-air and through cable, as it bases its funding on

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

s. It is FNG Nordic's first channel that does not operate on subscriber fees. As the channel was licensed as generalist channel, it was required to broadcast certain television programmes. As of 2018, Fox fulfilled such requirements by simulcasting

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news 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 ...

(which was a fellow 21st Century Fox business until November 2018) overnight, and showing programmes aimed at children in mornings under Fox Kids programming block. Such requirements were later lifted. Fox Networks Group Oy also operates the Finnish version of National Geographic television channel. The channel provided a free catch up service through its online platform FOXplay until 2019. Effective 1 January 2019, Sanoma Media Finland took over media sales representation of Fox Networks Group channels in Finland, which includes this channel. On October 26, 2022, The Walt Disney Company Nordic & Baltic announced that Fox would be renamed as Star Channel on 6 January 2023.

Past programming

News

SuomiTV had its own news department, but it was later phased out. Until 2019, Fox simulcast

during overnight hours.

Fox Kids

This is the only outlet to revive the

Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized in all caps) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a j ...

name, which was phased out most of the world. Initially, it utilised the Fox Kids' global logo and on-screen branding from early 2000s, but it was later replaced by another logo and look. After Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Fox Kids is managed by Disney Channels Worldwide. The block offered foreign television programs aimed at a young audience dubbed into the Finnish language. The block ended on 6 January 2019.

References

External links

*
http://www.foxplay.fi
(Archived) {{Finnish television channels

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Television channels in Finland Television channels and stations established in 2012