Star Chinese Channel () was a Taiwanese general entertainment television channel operated by The Walt Disney Company (Taiwan) Ltd. Its programming featured dramas, variety shows, lifestyle programs, and talk shows in Mandarin. Launched on 21 October 1991 at 16:30 Hong Kong Time by its predecessor, Star TV, the channel initially targeted audiences in

Greater China In ethnogeography, "Greater China" is a loosely-defined term that refers to the region sharing cultural and economic ties with the Chinese people, often used by international enterprises or organisations in unofficial usage. The notion contains ...

, broadcasting in both Mandarin and

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

. However, on 30 March 1996, it reduced its broadcasting area to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and switched to Mandarin-only programming. Star Chinese Channel, along with its sister channel, Star Entertainment Channel, ceased operations on 1 January 2024, as Disney further expanded its

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

streaming platform.

History

The fourth of the five original channels of Star TV, Star Chinese Channel was launched on 21 October 1991 at 16:30 Hong Kong Time as STAR TV Chinese Channel. Initially, it targeted audiences across

, broadcasting in both Mandarin and

. Star Chinese Channel was introduced as a 24-hour Mandarin-language variety entertainment channel, featuring full Chinese-language content primarily provided by ATV in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and broadcasting from

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

. It also aired

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

from other regions in

, including

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Additionally, it was the first commercially owned television channel to broadcast in

. Originally a free-to-air channel, Star TV later encrypted its signal. Until 30 March 1996 at 19:00 Hong Kong Time, the channel was broadcast across

. On that date, Star TV regionalized STAR TV Chinese Channel, reducing its broadcast area to Taiwan only. Viewers outside Taiwan were instead provided access to Phoenix Chinese Channel. At one point, the channel's operations were relocated from

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

on 30 June 1997. Shiau Hong-chi stated that Star TV's original business strategy was to broadcast popular American shows to Taiwanese audiences with minimal effort. However, he argued that this plan was unsuccessful, forcing Star TV to invest in localized branches such as Star Chinese Channel and Channel V Taiwan, as well as produce local programming.Shiau, Hong-chi. ''Animating the cute, the mean and the beautiful: the production and consumption of animation: Taiwan's struggles in the age of globalization''. Saarbrucken ermany VDM, Verlag Dr. Muller. 2008. As Disney, which had previously acquired FOX International Networks, decided to further expand

across Asian markets, it made the decision to shut down its entire cable TV network, including Star Chinese Channel. The channel had already ceased operations in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, and

on 1 October 2023, while Taiwan was the final market to see its closure. Star Chinese Channel, along with its sister channel Star Entertainment Channel, officially shut down in Taiwan on 1 January 2024. Following its closure, the channel in Taiwan was later replaced by KMTV.

Feeds

References

External links

* (Taiwan) {{Television in the Republic of China Television stations in Taiwan Defunct television channels Television channels and stations established in 1991 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2023 1991 establishments in Taiwan Fox Networks Group Disney television networks