Star Television (Eumoritown)

Star Television was a Eumoritonian "free subscription" television service that existed between 1999 and 2003, and again starting in 2006. During the entirety of its two runs, its operations were considered illegal.
Its goal wasn't to compete with the cable service operated by the Eumoritonian Telecommunications Authority.
==History==
Star Television reportedly started broadcasting in October 1999, using three UHF channels (33, 36, 42) that formerly served as government "testing grounds". Someone discovered these frequencies and decided to experiment with programming for them. At the time, local television had existed for five years in Eumoritown and EBC Television had a virtual monopoly, despite there being another television channel available, Flarland Television International, both free-to-air, on the VHF band (respectively on channels 4 and 10).
The company was registered to provide "quality television to Eumoritonians" when the extant local broadcaster was also witnessing small financial woes, forcing EBC to reduce its number of broadcasting hours, even though it was prospected by the government that "television was the new tea", in an attempt to extend workforce on the island for its tea plantations in central and southern Eumoritown. Star Television's name alluded to the star on the flag, but had no connection to another media outlet that references it in its name, The Eumoritonian Star and Star FM.
The Eumoritonian Broadcasting Corporation had secured the rights to UEFA Euro 2000, in its entirety, from TVB Henleys, itself sublicensed from the Flarlandian Broadcasting Corporation, who in turn had sublicensed it from the Eurectipherian Broadcasting Union as an active member. Star Television had cried the EBC for delaying certain matches due to technological mishaps and potential mistakes that would be committed during its schedule.
Three Star TV channels were created, one for each frequency:
*Star One - between 06:00 and 18:00 on weekdays and 06:00 and 12:00 on weekends it operated as Star Kids, featuring programming from Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Disney Channel. The remaining hours were comprised of entertainment programming recorded off channels like FOX, Comedy Central and AXN. On weekends, the remaining slots consisted of movies recorded off Flarlandian channels or DVDs.
*Star Two - a combined news and knowledge channel. Most of its schedule consisted of relays of NBS World and selected CNN International programming and the rest consisted of documentaries from Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and the National Geographic Channel.
*Star Three - arguably the most talked-about channel of the lot, Star Sports consisted largely of IBC Sports relays.
In October 2002, changes to Star TV were made, where Star Two would cease carrying documentaries and would shut down at 15:00, following a 9-hour relay of NBS World. The shutdown meant that the frequency had to be used for Eco-Paradise Television so that it would optimize its equipment before starting at 16:00. Eco-Paradise Television broadcast on UHF 33, trading with Star One.
The Eumoritonian government unilaterally declared that the UHF frequencies were to be re-regulated, forcing the Nashlandian Broadcasting Service to begin authorized relays of NBS World on channel 42 and the creation of IBC Eumoritown on channel 36. Star TV's website simply went blank, except for the message "someday, when you least expect it, we will return".
The return was announced in September 2005, this time under the guise of Star Digital. At the time, the owner of Star Television was aware of a potential "four multiplex solution" for digital terrestrial television. In October 2005, the extant television channels (EBC, Eco-Paradise, IBC, Flarland TV, NBS World) were conducting digital test broadcasts. Using the remaining multiplexes, Star TV planned a return to operations, this time operating as a "competitor" to the extant players and relaying television channels from Flarland. A series of tests started in November, but due to technological hurdles, the launch was delayed. This time they used decoders from Handan, a Kaizhungese company, that were compatible with digital terrestrial signals. The move to digital prompted more choice and "less piratation". There were plans to make Star Digital's "exclusive" channels as subscription services.
In February 2006, Star Television announced that one of its channels, Star TV, was going to be a local channel, however the existing broadcasters thought that "having three local players is too much". On March 17, it was announced that Star Digital would have seven exclusive channels, with Star TV being one of them. Star TV was reformatted to be similar to the old Star One. By April 1, and according to the owner as "no joke", the number has risen up to ten, with Channel A being part of the new digital shortlist. Counting with the FTA channels, Star Television now had 15 channels.
Regular services started on April 19, 2006 with the first digital terrestrial decoders being picked up for free to random citizens after a draw. By the end of April, Star Television reportedly had 1000 subscribers, a significant fraction of the Eumoritonian population. It also announced that the entirety of the World Cup would be broadcast on Star TV's channels.
The service was halted on the morning of May 24, 2006, roughly 35 days after it launched. All subscription channels with the exception of Star TV were not retreiving signal. Eventually Star TV put a screen saying "We apologize for the interruption. Our technicians are trying to fix the problem. Please stand by". It was eventually revealed that the signal of the TV channels was dropped upon request of Flarlandian television channel owners, international film and television companies and sports rights holders. The biggest threat was the upcoming World Cup, to be held in Hartung, of which only IBC Eumoritown and Eco-Paradise Television had local rights to. It was also the chance for Eco-Paradise Television, one of the rights holders, to express itself about the shutdown of the service, and for the External Broadcasting Corporation to use the free slots for its new channels, Flarland Prime, Flarland Vibe and Flarland 24. On May 26, Star TV decided to air a video produced by Eco-Paradise Television saying that the broadcaster has won the conflict.
It was also revealed that Star TV was interfering with the Eumoritonian government's plans for digital terrestrial television. New decoders that were legal and widespread replaced the old Handan ones in 2007, with Star TV ceasing operations in February 2007, after struggling to bring its channels back on air. The company was declared insolvent and it was believed that Star TV was "just a hobby that went too far". Channel A resumed broadcasting to Eumoritown in October 2006, before moving to Star TV's old slot upon its closure. The building where Star TV operated started to deteriorate. The owner of Star TV returned the equipment in August 2009.
==Channels==
===Analog phase (1999-2003)===
Initially, the channels were arranged under the following order:
*33 - Star One
*36 - Star Two
*42 - Star Three
Following the launch of Eco-Paradise Television, the frequencies were arranged like this:
*33 - Star Two/Eco-Paradise Television
*36 - Star One
*42 - Star Three
===Digital phase (2006)===
The digital phase seemed to consist of a set number of channels that Star Television thought to be appropriate for Eumoritonians. The first five channels were already available on terrestrial television. The channel order remained as it was until the service was switched off.
*1 - EBC Television
*2 - Eco-Paradise Television
*3 - IBC Eumoritown
*4 - Flarland TV
*5 - NBS World
*6 - Star TV
*7 - Channel A
*8 - Cartoon Network
*9 - FOX
*10 - National Geographic Channel
*11 - MTV
*12 - Prime Cuts
*13 - IBC Sports 1
*14 - IBC Sports 2
*15 - IBC Sports 3
==Legality==
Star TV broadcast to the entirety of Eumoritown using the government's television transmitters, with the main signals coming in from Point Latkow. The Eumoritonian government initially thought that it was a loophole, but was later cried out by the authorities. A number of cases came from IBC Sports Forum, whose presenter was initially unaware of it being relayed on "Star Three from Eumoritown", who received a number of e-mails and even phone calls from what turned out to be the "owner" of the operator.