Star Chinese Channel () is a Taiwanese general entertainment television channel operated by The Walt Disney Company (Taiwan) Ltd. Its programming features drama, variety, lifestyle, and talk shows in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

. Launched on 21 October 1991 at 16:30 Hong Kong Time by its predecessor Star TV, the channel originally targeted audiences in

Greater China Greater China is an informal geographical area that shares commercial and cultural ties with the Han Chinese people. The notion of "Greater China" refers to the area that usually encompasses Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan in East ...

broadcasting in both

and

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

, before it reduced broadcasting area to just

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and began broadcasting only in Mandarin on 31 March 1996.

History

One of the first 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, the channel originally targeted audiences in Greater China broadcasting in both Mandarin and Cantonese. It is also the first commercial broadcasting-owned channel to broadcast in Taiwan. It was a free-to-air channel, but at some point, Star TV encrypted the channel. The channel was previously broadcast across Greater China, but on 30 March 1996 at 19:00 Hong Kong Time, Star TV split STAR TV Chinese Channel by certain areas and reduced its broadcasting area to just Taiwan (Viewers in Greater China apart from Taiwan were offered

Phoenix Chinese Channel Phoenix Television is a majority state-owned television network that offers Mandarin and Cantonese-language channels that serve mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and other markets with substantial Chinese-language viewers. It is operated by ...

instead). Star TV later launched a separate international feed of STAR TV Chinese Channel which is available in Southeast Asia. At one point, the channel's operation was moved from British Hong Kong to

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. Shiau Hong-chi says that the original business for Star TV was to broadcast popular American shows to Taiwanese audience with as less effort as possible. Shiau then argues that however the plan was unsuccessful and Star TV had to invest on localized branches such as Chinese Channel and Channel V Taiwan and make local shows.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.

Feeds

Taiwan

* Star Chinese Channel (衛視中文台) * Star Entertainment Channel (星衛娛樂台): An alternative channel available on

CHT MOD CHT MOD (Multimedia On Demand of Chunghwa Telecom, zh, 中華電信MOD) is a Taiwan-based consumer IPTV service, operated by Chunghwa Telecom. Up to now, The current number of customers reached 1.48 million. History In January 2003, Chunghwa Tel ...

and certain cable TV providers in Taiwan.

Hong Kong and Southeast Asia

A Southeast Asian feed launched in 2006 across Southeast Asia and 2012 in Hong Kong. The feed airs Star Chinese Channel original shows, and also broadcast variety shows from other television networks and Chinese dramas from the Greater China region (newly released dramas are only available through selected countries as it aired). The feed is currently available on certain TV providers in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. A version of Star Chinese Channel was also available in the New Zealand, United States and Canada, along with

Star Chinese Movies Star Chinese Movies is a Chinese language pay television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company (Taiwan) Ltd. It features Chinese films, featuring famous actors such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Andy Lau, Sammi Ch ...

. But both channels have since ceased operation in the area Since 2018. Malaysian feed of Star Chinese Channel closed on 1 February 2022 due to the launch of Disney+ Hotstar. Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Europe Feed was yet to be launched. Although the space was open as Star Life LatAm has closed in operation on March 31, 2022 along with

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...

Nat Geo Wild National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). T ...

, Nat Geo Kids, FXM and even the Brazilian version of

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven y ...

in order to expanding their operation on

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

and

Star+ A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

, thereafter Star+ will be carrying some Asian contents to the platform.

References

External links

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