| Star Vijay | |
| Owner: | Disney India |
| Network: | Disney Star |
| Picture Format: | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Type: | Television channel |
| Language: | Tamil |
| Headquarters: | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Area: | World wide |
| Sister Channels: | Disney Star Channels |
| Online Serv 1: | Disney+ Hotstar |
| Online Chan 1: | India |
Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel operated by Disney Star, a subsidiary of Disney India. The channel telecasts programmes such as serials, reality shows & Tamil films.
The channel was first launched by N. P. V. Ramasamy Udayar on 24 November 1994, as Golden Eagle Communication (GEC).[1] [2] That same year it applied for the line-up of Singapore Cable Vision becoming the first Tamil channel on offer.[3] United Breweries Group acquired the channel in 1995 and renamed it as Vijay TV.[4] The UTV Group bought the controlling interest from United Breweries Group in 1999 for million.[5] [6] In 2001, Star India took over the channel and rebranded it as Star Vijay.[7] Star acquired 51 percent stake in Vijay TV with UTV holding the remaining 49 percent.[8] In 2004, UTV Software Communications offloaded its entire 44 percent stake in Vijay TV to Star India for ₹31 crores.[9]
This channel, along with Star One, was launched in Hong Kong in 2007.[10]
The High-Definition feed, Star Vijay HD, was launched on 29 May 2016.[11]
On 25 August 2016, its sibling channel Star Vijay Super was launched, which airs non-stop films and legacy television shows and later got revamped into a full movie channel with a tagline "Dhool Cinema Dhinam Dhinam".[12]
On 4 October 2020, it launched a music channel named Star Vijay Music.[13] [14]
See main article: List of programs broadcast by Star Vijay.
Star Vijay Music was an Indian Tamil language music pay television channel operated by Disney Star a subsidiary of Disney India, that was launched on 4 October 2020 during the grand launch of Bigg Boss season 4 by Kamal Haasan. The channel was replaced and rebranded as Star Vijay Takkar from 10 October 2022 onwards.[15]
When Star India took over the channel from UTV Communications, the channel's revenue, shares and advertising rates increased.[16] A revamp in 2017 brought with it a new logo and launched Bigg Boss Tamil Season 1, after which the audience share of the channel—which had been 10%-15%—increased by 10%, being the second most-watched Tamil television channel.[17]
In week 48 of 2020, Star Vijay became the most watched Tamil GEC in prime time while being the second most watched Tamil GEC overall after Sun TV.[18] In week 50, it garnered its highest viewership ratings of 7,14,002 AMAs (average minute audience (in hundreds)) being the fifth most watched Indian television channel.[19]