Star Premium
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pay television |
| Predecessor | LAPTV |
| Founded | 1997-06-01 |
| Defunct | 2022-03-31 |
| Fate | Ceased operations |
| Headquarters | Latin America |
Area served | Latin America |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company Latin America |
Star Premium (previously known as Fox+ and Fox Premium) was a collection of premium subscription television channels targeting Latin America, owned by The Walt Disney Company Latin America. Positioned as a rival to HBO Latin America, the service primarily showcased films and series in their original language accompanied by Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
Broadcast operations ended on February 1, 2022, across Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, and on March 31, 2022, in Brazil. Subsequently, the programming was transferred to Disney's streaming platform Star+.
History
The channel package debuted on June 1, 1997, under LAPTV, a collaborative venture involving Universal Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Fox Entertainment Group, and Paramount Pictures. Initially, the service did not include Brazil. In 2013, LAPTV was absorbed into Fox International Channels Latin America, leading to a rebranding first as Fox+, then later as Fox Premium. On February 22, 2021, the brand transitioned to Star Premium as part of Disney’s gradual elimination of the Fox brand.
In 2012, the channels were consolidated under the MovieCity brand umbrella:
- MovieCity Premieres (previously MovieCity)
- MovieCity Hollywood (formerly CityMix)
- MovieCity Classics (previously CityStars)
- MovieCity Action (formerly CityVibe)
- MovieCity Family (previously CityFamily)
- MovieCity Mundo (formerly CityMundo)
That year also saw the launch of five high-definition channels alongside video-on-demand and streaming capabilities. Nevertheless, HBO secured exclusive rights to Universal Pictures’ films, restricting MovieCity’s content library. In 2009, Fox Latin America acquired CineCanal and MovieCity networks; by 2013, LAPTV was fully integrated into Fox Latin America.
In 2014, Fox International Channels Latin America rebranded the MovieCity multiplex as Fox+ and introduced the streaming service Fox Play+. Additionally, Fox Comedy was launched.
Brazilian viewers gained access in February 2016 with two channels: MovieCity rebranded as Fox 1 and MovieCity Action renamed Fox Action. By March 11, 2017, the network streamlined its identity to Fox Premium, with Fox 1 becoming Fox Premium Series.
On November 27, 2020, Disney revealed plans to rename all Latin American channels bearing the Fox brand to Star starting February 22, 2021. This move extended Star branding beyond its Asian markets and helped reduce licensing fees paid to Fox Corporation.
Aligned with Disney’s global approach to shutter over 100 linear channels and debut Star+ in Latin America on August 31, 2021, Star Premium ceased operations on January 31, 2022. Other channels such as Fox Sports in South America also ended transmissions by late March.
Spanish-speaking Latin America & Caribbean
| Image | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Star Hits | Premiere movies and popular Hollywood films | |
| Star Series | New episodes of acclaimed series and first-run shows | |
| Star Action | Action movies and series, pay-per-view ring sports events, plus select Formula 1 races | |
| Star Cinema | Films from independent producers as well as Latin American and European cinema | |
| Star Classics | Timeless classic films | |
| Star Comedy | Comedy movies and television series | |
| Star Fun | Family-friendly movies and series rated G, PG, or PG-13 |
Brazil
- Star Hits (previously known as Fox 1 and Fox Premium 1)
- Star Hits 2 (formerly identified as Fox Action and Fox Premium 2)