Star TV UK planning to launch Star Utsav?
Star TV UK is rumoured to be planning to launch a new channel in the UK market in a bid to further strengthen its position in the market.
BizAsia understands that Star TV could be launching Star Utsav later this year to replace Star Jalsha on the Sky Digital platform. By doing so, Star TV will extend its reach from an exclusive Bengali community, which Star Jalsha targets, to the wider Asian audience. Star Utsav is the second most watched free-to-air Hindi channel after ZEE Anmol. Its programming consists of classic Star Plus shows including ‘Kyunki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii’ and ‘Kausatii Zindagi Kay’.
Star Plus UK recently launched a new afternoon band, which includes old Star Plus shows like ‘Ek Hasina Thi’, ‘Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon’, ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Baa Bahoo Aur Baby’. The shows are regularly attracting over 20,000 viewers in each 30-minute slot – boosting the channel’s overall ratings. Industry sources said that the move to launch Star Utsav in the UK derives from the success of Star Plus UK’s afternoon band.
The success of re-run channels in the UK started with India Cast’s Rishtey, which is now one of UK’s biggest channels. ZEE Network experimented briefly with Lamhe but failed to take off and was subsequently replaced with &TV. Similarly, Sony has also been showing classic episodes of shows on SAB TV.
An industry spokesperson told BizAsia, “This is certainly a great move by Star TV to widen its reach in the market with Star Utsav. Star Jalsha has been facing an uphill task competing with various free-to-air Bengali channels already available in the UK. Viewers will enjoy some of the nostalgic shows Star Utsav will offer.”
Star TV hurried the launch of Star Jalsha in the UK in 2012 to retain its EPG slot, which once belonged to Star News. The channel was replaced with Star Jalsha after Star News was rebranded to ABP News – no longer a Star TV channel.
If the rumours turn out to be true, then the launch will be subject to Star TV’s agreement with Sky. The broadcaster reports to Sky when making channel changes due to carriage agreements. Sky would decide if and when the channel would go live as many factors including sales, marketing and positioning would need to be considered.
At the time of filing this article, BizAsia was awaiting a response from Star TV UK.
