Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Star World India

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Owned by
  
Star India

Language
  
English

Country
  
India

Broadcast area
  
South Asia

Launched
  
15 December 1991 (as Star Plus) 31 March 1996 (as STAR World)

Picture format
  
576i (16:9/4:3) (SDTV) (March 1996 - March 2011) 1080i (HDTV) (April 2011-present)

Star World India is a 24-hour English language basic cable and satellite television channel owned by STAR TV and Fox Networks Group, two fully owned subsidiaries of 21st Century Fox. The channel primarily airs popular shows from the United States, United Kingdom and sometimes Australia along with some local shows to appeal to the English-speaking population of India and a few other South Asian countries. An HD simulcast of the channel was started in April 2011. The channel focuses on 14- to 35-year-old urban population, with 24-year-old working professionals being its primary target demographic. The channel has been quoted as "India's most loved and leading General English Entertainment Channel" (GEC). The channel mainly airs TV shows from the leading American entertainment networks such as FOX, ABC, NBC, ABC Family, CBS, USA Network and sometimes from AMC and The CW. Some original programs which are solely made and produced in India are also aired on this channel which include the celebrity talk show Koffee with Karan and The Tara Sharma Show which deals with parenting and maternal child care issues. Some high-rated notable television shows aired on this channel include Friends, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Grey's Anatomy, Homeland, House M.D., Lost, Mad Men, MasterChef Australia, Modern Family, Monk, One Tree Hill, Smallville, The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons, The X-Files, Two and a Half Men, Yes, Dear etc. The channel is also an official broadcaster of the Primetime Emmy Awards in India.

Contents

History

When the channel was first launched on 15 December 1991 as STAR TV, it was an English language television channel airing international content from the U.S., UK and Australia, with Zee TV being the Hindi-language entertainment channel. However, after STAR (subsequently acquired by a News Corporation) ended its partnership with Zee TV, Star Plus was transformed into a Hindi-language channel, with STAR World becoming the network's English-language channel. In April 2011, an HD feed of STAR World India was launched by Star India. This channel is also available in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Programming

Star World India airs popular English television shows from mostly the U.S. but sometimes it also airs shows from the United Kingdom and Australia. Various Australian and British Series such as MasterChef Australia and Downton Abbey have been aired on the channel. The latest seasons of numerous shows are aired shortly after their American telecast mainly on Star World India's sister channel STAR World Premiere HD which airs popular television shows along with the US. However, sometimes fresh episodes of some shows are also aired shortly after their American telecast on Star World itself. One notable example is the Priyanka Chopra starrer Quantico. Starting from the fall season of 2016, Star World India will air eight American television shows shortly after their U.S. broadcast throughout the week, which include notable new seasons of shows like The Blacklist, How to Get Away with Murder etc. and all-new series' such as Pitch and Son of Zorn. With this initiative, the channel is aiming to take one more step forward in the world of English entertainment in India; by offering the latest and new seasons of highly popular TV shows to its viewers to watch along with the world.

Shows are mainly aired on a Monday to Friday format on the channel. The main prime time schedule of the channel during weekdays begins at 8 pm IST and ends at 12 am IST.

2015 Rebrand

On 1 January 2015 at 12:00 am IST, during the telecast of a Season 3 episode of 2 Broke Girls, Star World India revealed its brand new on-air graphics.

STAR World Weekend Binge

On 25 April 2015, STAR World launched its weekend special programming block known as STAR World Weekend Binge. On this programming block, during weekends i.e. Saturdays and Sundays, latest seasons of high-rated English television shows are aired throughout the day (from 12 pm IST to approximately 7 pm IST). Sometimes, previous seasons of some shows are also rerun on this programming block.

List of Weekend Binge shows in 2015

The Weekend Binge block debuted this year with its first show (season 1 of How to Get Away with Murder) airing on Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 12:00 pm IST and ended on December 27, 2015 with its last show of the year (season 4 of Arrested Development). Over the course of the year 2015, there were 31 seasons of 30 TV shows which aired on the Weekend Binge block. Some notable shows like How to Get Away with Murder (season 1), Black-ish (season 1) and Glee (season 5) were aired twice as Emmy specials during September 2015. The second season of the supernatural drama Sleepy Hollow aired as a Halloween special in October 2015. The Weekend Binge block lasted for forty-one weeks during this year.

List of Weekend Binge shows in 2016

The Weekend Binge block debuted this year with the first season of horror black comedy series (season 1 of Scream Queens) airing on Saturday, January 2, 2016 at 12:00 pm IST. The last season of the hit British historical period drama Downton Abbey was also aired as a Weekend Binge on 16 & 17 January 2016. Season 1 of Manhattan Love Story was aired as a Valentine's Day special on 14 February 2016. The X-Files: Event Series also aired on this block on 19 March 2016. Those episodes of Angel from Hell which were not aired in the U.S. (along with those which were aired) because of its mid-season cancellation were aired on this block on 24 April 2016, prior to the original U.S. airing because CBS did not release the following eight un-aired episodes until July 2016.

Notable show details of 2016

  • Game of Thrones Season 1 premiered on 15 February 2016 at 10 pm IST. Consecutively, the first five seasons of this series were aired every Mon-Fri with the Season 5 Finale airing on 22 April 2016.
  • The sixth and final season of Downton Abbey premiered on 17 February 2016 (was aired on weeknights) and the Series Finale was aired on 3 March 2016 at 9 pm IST with UnREAL taking over.
  • The eighth season of MasterChef Australia premiered on Monday, 9 May 2016 at 9 pm IST and aired every Monday to Friday. This season was an exception as this was the first season of the show which was aired shortly after its Australian telecast on Star World itself (both SD and HD) and not on STAR World Premiere HD, where it usually airs in its first run in the country. Various different sponsors were roped in to promote this season. A #SpeakGourmet hashtag was used throughout the promoting campaign and its run on the channel. On the evening of 22 May 2016, Star World hosted a gourmet gala at the Olive Bar Kitchen in Mumbai to celebrate the launch and success of this season of MasterChef Australia. The Season Finale was aired on Friday, 26 August 2016.
  • The fourth season of The Tara Sharma Show premiered on Saturday, 12 June 2016 at 11 am IST and was aired every Saturday.
  • On the occasion of Independence Day, Star World aired back-to-back episodes of Two and a Half Men: Season 12 on 15 August 2016, starting from 10 am IST.
  • The second season of Scream Queens premiered on Wednesday, 21 September 2016 at 9 pm IST. This season was aired on Wednesday nights. The Season 2 finale aired on 21 December 2016. This show was a part of the Star World Now Trending block.
  • The third season of Empire premiered on Thursday, 22 September 2016 at 9 pm IST. This season is aired on Thursday nights. The mid-season finale aired on 15 December 2016. This show is a part of the Star World Now Trending block.
  • The fourth season of The Blacklist premiered on Friday, 23 September 2016 at 9 pm IST. This season is aired on Friday nights. New episodes are aired very shortly after their U.S. telecast. This show is a part of the Star World Now Trending block.
  • The third season of How to Get Away with Murder premiered on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 9 pm IST. This season is aired on Saturday nights. New episodes are aired shortly after their U.S. telecast. This show is a part of the Star World Now Trending block.
  • The second season of the much anticipated drama series Quantico premiered on Monday, 26 September 2016 at 9 pm IST. This is the only show which is aired on the Thank God It's Monday block. New episodes are aired very shortly after their U.S. telecast on Sundays. This show is a part of the Star World Now Trending block. Ahead of the season premiere on Indian television, a special screening of the first episode of this season was hosted by the channel at the Social Offline clubs in Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi respectively. The show moved to Tuesday nights in 2017.
  • The first season of an all-new sports drama Pitch premiered on Tuesday, 27 September 2016 at 9 pm IST. This show was a part of the Star World Now Trending block and was aired on Tuesday nights. The Season Finale was aired on 13 December 2016.
  • Season 1 of Black-ish was aired every weeknight starting from Tuesday, 4 October 2016 at 10 pm IST on the channel's new one-hour comedy block 10 Tickles. Both Seasons 1 and 2 were aired one after another; and the Season 2 finale aired on Thursday, 8 December 2016.
  • Season 4 of New Girl was also aired as a part of the 10 Tickles comedy block every weeknight at 10:30 pm IST. Both Seasons 4 and 5 were one after another; and the Season 5 finale aired on Friday, 2 December 2016.
  • The rerun of the first five seasons of the hit political thriller series Homeland began airing on the channel starting from Friday, 21 October 2016 at 8 pm IST onward; and was aired on weeknights. The Season 5 finale aired on Thursday, 12 January 2017.
  • Season 5 of STAR World's original celebrity talk show Koffee with Karan premiered on Sunday, 6 November 2016 at 9 pm IST. Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt were invited as guests for the Season premiere. The Season Finale aired on Sunday, 19 March 2017.
  • An all-new musical drama Star premiered on Thursday, 22 December 2016 at 9 pm IST replacing the third season of Empire (which went on a mid-season break). This show was a part of the Star World Now Trending block. The Season Finale aired on 16 March 2017.

    • Notable show details of 2017

  • The sixth season of Homeland premiered on Monday, 16 January 2017 at 8 pm IST This show is a part of the Star World Now Trending block.
  • The second season of Quantico returned from hiatus on a new night on 24 January 2017 at 9 pm IST and was aired on Tuesday nights.
  • 24: Legacy - an all-new spin-off series of the hit television show 24 premiered on Wednesday, 8 February 2017 at 9 pm IST. Episodes are aired shortly after their U.S. telecast. This show is a part of the STAR World Now Trending block and is aired on Wednesday nights.
  • On the occasion of International Women's Day on 8 March 2017, the entire first season of Pitch was aired all day long on the channel.
  • Season 3 of Empire resumed after a 3-month hiatus on Wednesday, 23 March 2017.

    • Former programming

    Note: Shows marked in bold-italics indicate that only one season or a few seasons of that particular show has aired on the channel and the entire series has yet not finished its run on the channel and is on hiatus at present or is currently being aired on the channel.

    References

    Star World India Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA