Star Plus

Star Plus (the spelling preferred by the channel is StarPlus, in camel case) is a Hindi GEC (a term used in India to denote a general entertainment channel); it has been so since July 2000. It is the flagship channel of the Star TV network and one of the most-watched TV channels in India, as well as the most popular pay-TV channel across all languages. From its launch in 1991 until 1996, it was an English GEC, after which Star World took up that role. The channel retained as a mixed of Hindi and English GEC from April 1996 to June 2000.
The main competitors of Star Plus and its sister channel Star Bharat are Zee TV, Sony TV, Colors, Sony Sab and &TV, as well as free-to-air channels like Dangal. 
==Star Plus==
===1991–1993===
Star Plus has started broadcasting on 15 December 1991 as an English-language TV channel. It was part of the STAR TV package of channels that also consisted of Zee TV, Prime Sports, BBC WSTV, Chinese Channel and MTV Asia.
===1993–1996===
In 1993, Star Plus changed its colours from green and purple to yellow and orange, removed the word Star (only for it to return in 1996) and added two overlapping, interlocking stars. The wordmark consisted of simply the word PLUS in the Optima font.
===1996–1998===
A fresh look for the STAR TV Network was introduced on 30 March 1996. All STAR channels adopted logos with a rotating star and a square.
Zee ended its partnership with Star on 31 March 1996, paving the way for the latter to convert Star Plus into a mixed of Hindi and English GEC on next day.
===1999–2001===
In 1998, the year Star News was launched, the vertical rectangles were converted into horizontal ones.
On 1 July 2000, the channel became a full Hindi GEC.
===2002–2010===
This is the longest-lived logo in the history of the channel. It was introduced on New Year’s Day 2002, some months after Star Plus was repositioned from an English GEC to a Hindi GEC in 2000. A slightly different logo was used in the United States, which read Star India Plus and was like this logo used by Star Gold in the United States at the time.
===2010–2016===
On 14 June 2010, during the Star Parivaar Awards, Star Plus introduced a new logo, the Ruby Star, and a new graphics package and slogan: Rishta Wahi, Soch Nayi (Same Relationship, New Thinking). This was the first rebrand in nine years.
*Star Plus’s new logo, the Ruby Star
*Branding materials
The new look was created by the London-based design agency venturethree, which also designed the graphics for fellow Hindi GEC Life OK (now Star Bharat) in 2011, and Bengali GEC Star Jalsha’s Diamond Star graphics in 2012 (inspired by Star Plus’s Ruby Star).
*Logo launch on YouTube
Fedra Sans Alternate was introduced as the on-screen typeface of the channel and was later extended to Star Jalsha in 2012 and Marathi GEC Star Pravah in 2014.
===2011–2016 (HD)===
Star Plus launched an HD feed on 15 April 2011 along with Star Gold, Star World and Star Movies. These channels, along with National Geographic Channel HD (which had been launched in 2010), were branded by the Star network as Asli HD (real HD) channels, as they were among the first HD channels in India.
*Best Media Info
*Ident on YouTube
*Ident on Vimeo
===2016–2018===
A fresh look was introduced on 7 November 2016. The tagline was shortened to simply Nayi Soch (New Thinking), and the channel now referred to itself in all-uppercase (i.e., STAR PLUS rather than Star Plus). In this period Star Plus's brand positioning was heavily focused on female empowerment, and the female protagonists of its shows featured in its break bumpers.
However, this women-oriented look was short-lived, and was done away with in May 2018. As in 2010, the rebrand was done by Venturethree, with Fedra Sans Alternate continuing as the corporate typeface.
*Venturethree
*PromaxBDA
==StarPlus==
===2018–present (India, MENA and APAC), 2018–2021 (UK and Europe)===
Another new look and graphics package was introduced on the final of Season 11 of the Indian Premier League, on 27 May 2018 (the channel was an official sponsor of the IPL that year). The tagline was revised to Rishta Wahi, Baat Nayi (Same Relationship, New Conversations), and the channel now writes its name in camel case (StarPlus). Though no specific credit was given for the motion graphics, the new brand identity was conceptualised by Sparkt, an Indian branding agency.
*IndianTelevision
*Sparkt
The logo’s red colour was retained, but the new graphics package, consisting of squares tilted at a 45° angle, is predominantly white with accents of red and gold. The on-screen typeface changed from Fedra Sans Alternate to Kohinoor, though Foco is used in the logo (as well as the logos of Star Maa and Star Suvarna since late 2020).
==Footnote==
*Following the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s changes in TV channel packaging and pricing in 2018–2019, Star Plus has become the most-watched Hindi pay-tv channel, but it falls short of free-to-air channels such as Dangal, which is owned by a small broadcaster and yet has more viewers due to its presence on the government’s DD Free Dish platform.Campaign IndiaCampaign IndiaBusiness Standard
==References==
Category:Entertainment television channels in India
Category:Star TV Network
Category:Television channels in India
Category:The Walt Disney Company
Category:India
Category:Disney
Category:Hindi-language television channels
Category:Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International
Category:Television channels in the Middle East
Category:Television channels in Asia
Category:Maharashtra
Category:1993
Category:1996
Category:1998
Category:2001
Category:2010
Category:2016
Category:2018
Category:Television channels in the United Kingdom
Category:Television channels
Category:Television channels and stations established in 1991