Wikipedia

Star+

This article is about the streaming service in Ibero-America. For the Disney+ content hub, see Star (Disney+). For the Hindi-language TV channel, see StarPlus.

Star+ (Star Plus; stylized as ST★R+) was a short-lived subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service available in almost all Ibero-American states. The service was owned by The Walt Disney Company through the Disney Entertainment division and business segment.[2]

Star+
Logo for the Star+ service.
Type of site
OTT video streaming platform
Available in
List
DissolvedJune 26, 2024; 4 months ago (2024-06-26) (merged with Disney+)
July 24, 2024; 3 months ago (2024-07-24) (separated app)
Area servedIbero-America (except Cuba,[1] see full list of countries)
OwnerThe Walt Disney Company
ParentDisney Streaming
URLArchived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedAugust 31, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-08-31)
Current statusDefunct

The service featured television and film content from the libraries of Disney subsidiaries, including Star Originals, 20th Television, 20th Television Animation, Searchlight Television, 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Animation (films only), ABC Signature, Freeform, FX Networks, Hollywood Pictures, Hotstar, Hulu, National Geographic, Searchlight Pictures, Touchstone Pictures and many more, as well as a large amount of third party content from Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal and Paramount Global and live sports from ESPN.[3]

Star+ content was merged into Disney+ on June 26, 2024[4] and the separate streaming platform was discontinued on July 24 of the same year.[5]

History

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Pre-launch

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The "Star" brand originated as a Hong Kong-based satellite broadcaster, which operated under that name as an acronym of "Satellite Television Asian Region." It was founded by Hutchison Whampoa in 1990, and was acquired by News Corporation in 1993.[6] After 2009, the Star brand was mainly restricted to the now separately owned Star China Media, as well as Star India, which operates primarily in India but also distributes Indian vernacular TV programming worldwide and the remaining Asia Pacific rebranded from Star to then Fox International Channels' regional unit.[7] Star India (as well as all of the now Fox Networks Group's Asia Pacific operations[a]) was then acquired by Walt Disney as part of its acquisition of 21st Century Fox on March 20, 2019.

During an earnings call on August 5, 2020, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that Disney planned to launch a new international, general entertainment service under the "Star" brand name in 2021.[citation needed] The plan superseded a previously announced international expansion of the majority-controlled American streaming service, Hulu, which has only expanded outside the United States to Japan.[8] Chapek argued that the Hulu brand is not well known outside of the US, while Star being a much more recognizable brand outside of the United States.[9]

Dispute with Lionsgate

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In April 2021, Disney faced a trademark dispute in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico with Lionsgate's Starz Entertainment over the use of the Star brand in Ibero-America.[10] The Wrap reported that Disney had five days to respond to the Brazil lawsuit.[11] As a result, on May 13, 2021, it would be announced that the launch of Star+ in Ibero-America would be delayed to August 31.[12][13]

While Disney eventually won the dispute, in July, they would lose an appeal in court in Brazil to the name dispute with Lionsgate.[14] In August 2021, Disney and Starz reached a settlement over the brand name issue allowing Star+ to launch in Ibero-America on August 31 as scheduled. The lawsuit was dropped after the deal was reached.[15][16]

In June 2022, Disney and Lionsgate announced a streaming bundle offer in select Ibero-American countries, consisting of Disney+, Star+ and Lionsgate's Starzplay service.[17]

On September 28, 2022, Lionsgate announced that its Starzplay service would rename to Lionsgate+ worldwide on the next day, including Ibero-America but excluding United States and Canada (where it is still known as Starz in those regions), as well as Cuba which completely ended the name conflict with Disney's Star+ service.[18][19][20]

Merge with Disney+

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On December 12, 2023, The Walt Disney Company Latin America has planned to closing down Star+ platform while also to launch both the Star and ESPN hub onto Disney+ from June 26, 2024.[21] The standalone Star+ app, originally planned to discontinued on June 30, 2024, was later got pushed to July 24 of that same year.[5] The announcement was left unnoticed for current Star+ subscribers until they drop the short clip about it.[22]

Content

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Star+ served the same purpose as the Star content hub that was integrated into the Disney+ service in several other countries on February 23, 2021.[23][24][25] The services hosted a variety of content from Disney's studios, primarily general entertainment content carried on Disney+, as well as live sports from ESPN.

Original programming

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Further information: List of Star+ original programming

In addition to acquired content, Star+ produced original, local content in almost all Ibero-American states to be exclusively released on the platform.[26]

Sports rights

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American football

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Association football

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Asia

  Europe

  Belgium

  England

  France

  Germany

  Italy

  Netherlands

  Portugal

  Scotland

  Spain

  Turkey

South America

  Argentina

  Brazil

  Ecuador

  Peru

  Uruguay

North America

  Mexico

  United States

Australian rules football

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Motorsports

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Baseball

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  United States

  Mexico

Basketball

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  United States

  Africa

  Europe

Boxing

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Combat sport

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Cycling

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Field Hockey

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Golf

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Hockey

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Polo

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Rugby

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Table Tennis

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Tennis

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Volleyball

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Availability

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Star+ was available for streaming via web browsers on PC and Mac, as well as apps on iOS and Apple TV, Android and Android TV, Fire TV and Fire HD, Chromecast, Roku, WebOS and Tizen OS devices among another digital media player and gaming consoles, such as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, as well as PC running Windows 10 and Windows 11.[28][29]

Launch rollout timeline
Launch date Region Country/Territory
August 31, 2021[1][30] North America Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
South America Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela

Notes

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  1. ^ Although, the Asia Pacific operations do operate "Star"-branded TV services to date, to varying degrees. Not to be confused with the Japanese premium TV network of the same name, which albeit then a co-owned venture with three Japanese partners, is now a wholly separate business as the former 21st Century Fox sold its stake before the Disney acquisition completed.

References

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  1. ^ a b "¿En qué países está disponible Star+?". Star Plus: Help. August 31, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Cómo será el nuevo servicio de streaming de Disney que llega a Latinoamérica". T13 (in Spanish). December 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "ACERCA DE STAR +".
  4. ^ "Star+ To Merge Into Disney+ In Latin America In June". March 28, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Fim do Star+ e fusão com Disney+ acontecerá em duas etapas. Entenda" [End of Star+ and merger with Disney+ begins in two steps. Know more]. Além da Tela (in Portuguese). April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Tam, Luisa (July 27, 1993). "News buys Star TV". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  7. ^ Chu, Karen (August 18, 2009). "News Corp. confirms STAR TV breakup". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  8. ^ "Disney + to raise its subscription fees, announces 'Star' international streaming service". GSMArena.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  9. ^ Alexander, Julia (August 4, 2020). "Disney is launching a new Star-branded streaming service internationally". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  10. ^ Palmer, Roger (April 29, 2021). "StarzPlay Disputes Disney Using Star Brand In Latin America". What's On Disney Plus. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  11. ^ Baysinger, Time (June 9, 2021). "Starz Slaps Disney With Trademark Suits in 3 Latin American Countries Over Star+ Streaming Service". The Wrap.
  12. ^ Palmer, Roger (May 13, 2021). "STAR+ WILL ARRIVE IN LATIN AMERICA ON AUGUST 31ST". What's On Disney Plus.
  13. ^ Aliaga, Victor (June 26, 2021). "Star+: Conheça o novo serviço de streaming que chega ao Brasil" [Star+: Discover the new streaming service coming to Brazil]. IGN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  14. ^ "Starz consegue impedir Disney de usar marca Star Plus no Brasil; entenda o caso". TudoCelular (in Portuguese). July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  15. ^ "Disney faz acordo milionário para usar o nome Star+ em seu novo streaming". Notícias da TV (in Portuguese). August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  16. ^ "Disney and Starz Reach Settlement Over Star Plus Brand Name Use in Latin America". Variety. July 25, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  17. ^ Vlessing, Etan (June 23, 2022). "Disney Teams With Starz For Streaming Bundle in Latin America". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  18. ^ Goldbart, Max (September 28, 2022). "Starz To Rebrand As Lionsgate+ Outside U.S. And Canada". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  19. ^ Vlessing, Etan (September 28, 2022). "Lionsgate to Focus on Spinoff of Studio Business, Rebrands Starz Outside of U.S." The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  20. ^ "STARZPLAY chega ao fim e muda para LIONSGATE+". Além da Tela (in Portuguese). September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  21. ^ "Disney+ anuncia unificação com Star+ e cria plano com anúncios no streaming" [Disney+ announces unification with Star+ and creates a plan with ads on the streaming]. Notícias da TV (in Portuguese). March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "Ver ¡Tenemos noticias importantes! | Star+". www.starplus.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  23. ^ "Disney will fuel international growth with Star brand and Star+ app". TechCrunch. December 10, 2020. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  24. ^ "R-Rated Features, MA TV Coming to Disney+ Overseas via Star Catalog". CBR. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  25. ^ Newsdesk, Laughing Place Disney (December 11, 2020). "Disney Investor Day 2020 Recap: Hulu, FX, ESPN+, Star, Star+". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  26. ^ "Star+ Lands in Latin America with 66 Original Productions". Todotvnews. June 26, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  27. ^ "Brasileirão terá transmissão pela ESPN e Star+ na América Latina". VCFAZ (in Brazilian Portuguese). October 15, 2021.
  28. ^ "Como baixar o Star+ no PS4 e PS5". Yahoo! Finance (in Portuguese). Yahoo!. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  29. ^ "Star+: streaming da Disney anuncia preços e planos no Brasil". Tech Mundo (in Portuguese). August 13, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  30. ^ "(Star+: )GEO Availability". Star Plus: Help. November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
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