Star! Scandinavia was a television channel in northern Europe that is devoted to entertainment and celebrity news and programming. The channel was managed by Scandinavian television broadcaster NonStop Television, part of

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

. The channel was fashioned after Star! (a former Canadian entertainment channel now branded as E!, after the U.S.-based channel of the same namesake) and is licensed from

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

(previously

CTVglobemedia Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

and

CHUM Limited CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHU ...

). Programming is a mix of several Bell Media television channels such as E!,

FashionTelevisionChannel Fashion Television, also known as Fashion Television Channel, was a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. It was originally established in 2001 by CHUM Limited as a brand extension of the Citytv series ''FashionTele ...

MuchMore M3 was a Canadian English language Category A services, Category A cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the y ...

and others.

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

news program News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either video production, produced local programming, ...

Showbiz Tonight ''Showbiz Tonight'' is a defunct American entertainment news program that aired from February 20, 2005, until February 6, 2014, on HLN. ''Showbiz Tonight'' was hosted by A. J. Hammer at CNN New York at the time of its cancellation. The show re ...

from HLN is shown several times a day on the channel. Star! Scandinavia has also shown several award shows such as the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, the

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

, the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

and the

BAFTA Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

History

Star! Scandinavia was launched in September 2000, but was then named E! after its American counterpart on a license with

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

. A fashion channel called ''

Style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

'' broadcast on the same channel during the daytime. E! has licensed its name and brand identity to regional cable television networks in nearly every country worldwide. This includes an international network (set up in Europe during 2005) that is broadcast from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

across most of Europe (i.e.

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the UK), and joint-venture channels in Israel and throughout Argentina, Brazil and the rest of Latin America. In July 2004 the Scandinavian channel changed its affiliation and was renamed ''Star!'' while E! set up their own channel in Europe. It was originally available in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, but has since extended its coverage to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, the

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the

Baltics The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

. Programmes are not interrupted by commercials but placed in between programs. The channel is operated by NonStop Television, which also operates movie channels

Showtime Scandinavia Showtime Scandinavia (generally referred to simply as ''Showtime'') was a television channel broadcasting action movies to the Nordic countries operated by NonStop Television. Its name and logo was licensed by Showtime Networks Inc., owners of the ...

and

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. The channel started broadcasting terrestrially in Sweden in the autumn of 2002. It was originally broadcasting for 24 hours per day, but when new licenses were granted in February 2006 the broadcasting hours of the channel were reduced and Star! would broadcast from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. On 1 May 2010 Star! started broadcasting in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

through the

TopTV StarSat (formerly TopTV until 31 October 2013) is a South African direct broadcast satellite Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth di ...

pay TV operator. Following a deal between Star!'s brand owner, CTVglobemedia (now

), and Comcast, the original Star! channel in Canada was replaced by E! on 29 November 2010. The rebranding did not affect Star! in Scandinavia. Star! was closed on 15 July 2015, with an 2002 episode of ''

FashionTelevision ''FashionTelevision'', also known as ''FT'', is a Canadian-produced special interest show focusing on fashion. The show, created by Jay Levine in 1985, was last hosted by Jeanne Beker. Production of the broadcast ended on April 11, 2012. The pr ...

'', after the episode ended, a slide was seen, the message saying "''Thanks''", the Star! logo and the website for the channel (it redirected to the Turner website) after which the channel space created by E! in 2000 folded and ceased to exist.

Logos

File:E! Logo.svg, 2000-2004 File:Star! Logo (2000-2004).svg, 2004 File:Star TV.svg, 2004-2015

References

{{AT&T Pan-Nordic television channels Defunct television channels in Sweden Defunct television channels in Norway Defunct television channels in Denmark Defunct television channels in Finland Television channels and stations established in 2000 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2015