Star TV UK to launch food strand ‘Star Zaika’

Star TV UK has confirmed that it will be launching a food strand called ‘Star Zaika’ later this month.

BizAsiaLive.com understands that a number of food-based shows will be launching on both Star Plus and Star Bharat. The broadcaster’s strapline for the new concept will be “Entertainment Ka Naya Tadka”. The shows that have been confirmed are from the FoodFood channel in India including ‘Sanjeev Kapoor’s Kitchen’, ‘Mummy Ka Magic’, ‘Sweet Desire’ and ‘Turban Tadka’. The launch date of ‘Star Zaika’ is yet to be confirmed.

Star Zaika is the latest schedule experiment for Star TV UK after the success of its Star Dopahar slot where it is re-running popular shows from Star TV’s library. Also, Star Plus UK is breaking away from its concurrent feed it takes from India to localise its schedule to suit UK viewers lifestyle habits.

It is the first time Star TV UK will be launching a dedicated food slot, which comes after the successes of cookery shows on rival channels including Hum Masala. Recently, ZEE Network launched its own 24-hour Indian food channel, Living Foodz, which so far has had a lukewarm response.

Incidentally, FoodFood streams live on Sony Pictures Networks’ OTT app, SonyLIV.