 Logo for the Star+ service. | |
Type of site | OTT video streaming platform |
|---|---|
| Available in | List |
| Dissolved | 26 June 2024; 17 months ago (2024-06-26) (merged withDisney+) 24 July 2024; 16 months ago (2024-07-24) (separated app) |
| Area served | Ibero-America (exceptCuba,[1] seefull list of countries) |
| Parent | Disney Streaming |
| URL | Archived official website at theWayback Machine (archive index) |
| Registration | Required |
| Launched | 31 August 2021; 4 years ago (2021-08-31) |
Star+ (Star Plus; stylized asST★R+) was a short-livedsubscription video on-demandover-the-topstreaming service available in almost allIbero-American states. The service was owned byThe Walt Disney Company through theDisney Entertainment division and business segment.[2]
The service featured television and film content from the libraries ofDisney subsidiaries, includingStar 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 fromSony Pictures,NBCUniversal andParamount Global and live sports fromESPN.[3]
Star+ content was merged intoDisney+ on 26 June 2024[4] and the separate streaming platform was discontinued on 24 July of the same year.[5]
The "Star" brand originated as aHong Kong-based satellite broadcaster, which operated under that name as an acronym of "Satellite Television Asian Region." It was founded byHutchison Whampoa in 1990, and was acquired byNews Corporation in 1993.[6] After 2009, the Star brand was mainly restricted to the now separately ownedStar China Media, as well asStar India, which operates primarily in India but also distributesIndian 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 itsacquisition of21st Century Fox on 20 March 2019.
During an earnings call on 5 August 2020, Disney CEOBob 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a new international, general entertainment service under the "Star" brand name in 2021.[citation needed] The plan superseded a previously announced international expansion of the majority-controlled American streaming service,Hulu, which has only expanded outside the United States to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 is a much more recognizable brand outside of the United States.[9]
In April 2021, Disney faced a trademark dispute in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico withLionsgate'sStarz 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 13 May 2021, it would be announced that the launch of Star+ inIbero-America would be delayed to 31 August.[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 31 August 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'sStarzplay service.[17]
On 28 September 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]
On 12 December 2023,The Walt Disney Company Latin America planned to close down Star+ platform, and then launch both theStar andESPN hub ontoDisney+ on 26 June 2024.[21] The standalone Star+ app was originally planned to be discontinued on 30 June 2024; the date was later pushed to 24 July of that same year.[5] The announcement was left unnoticed for current Star+ subscribers until they drop the short clip about it.[b][22][clarification needed]
Star+ served the same purpose as theStar content hub that was integrated into the Disney+ service in several other countries on 23 February 2021.[23][24][25] The services hosted a variety of content from Disney's studios, primarily general entertainment content carried onDisney+, as well as live sports fromESPN.
In addition to acquired content, Star+ produced original, local content in almost all Ibero-American states to be exclusively released on the platform.[26]
Asia
Europe
Belgium
England
France
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Portugal
Scotland
Spain
Turkey
South America
Argentina
Brazil
Ecuador
Peru
Uruguay
North America
Mexico
United States
United States
Mexico
United States
Africa
Europe
Star+ was available for streaming via web browsers on PC and Mac, as well as apps oniOS andApple TV,Android andAndroid TV,Fire TV andFire HD,Chromecast,Roku,WebOS andTizen OS devices among anotherdigital media player and gaming consoles, such asPlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Xbox One andXbox Series X/S, as well as PC runningWindows 10 andWindows 11.[28][29]
| Release date | Region | Country/territory |
|---|---|---|
| 31 August 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 |
