Star Suvarna Plus
Star Suvarna Plus is a Kannada-language movie channel owned by JioStar, the joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Launched in 2013 as Suvarna Plus — a second Kannada general entertainment channel from the Star network — it gradually transformed into a 24-hour movie channel and is today the second most-watched Kannada movie channel after Udaya Movies. The channel airs Kannada films from the Sandalwood industry round the clock, alongside cinema-based specials, and it serves as the movie companion to the flagship Kannada general entertainment channel Star Suvarna.
Overview and Channel Identity
Star Suvarna Plus is positioned as the Kannada movie destination within the JioStar portfolio. Its schedule is built around Sandalwood films — telecasting movies through the day with channel premieres, often on Saturday evenings — supplemented by film-based programming. The channel broadcasts in Kannada and is available in standard definition across major direct-to-home and cable platforms in Karnataka. Within the network, it complements Star Suvarna, the flagship Kannada general entertainment channel known for its prime-time fiction, by giving the network a dedicated outlet for its Kannada film library.
Launch as Suvarna Plus in 2013
The channel was launched in 2013 under the name Suvarna Plus (also styled as Asianet Suvarna Plus) by Asianet Communications, then part of the Star network. The launch was announced in July 2013 as the network's second Kannada general entertainment channel, with the channel going on air that year. Industry reports place the formal launch on 14 August 2013. At the time, its parent channel Suvarna (launched in June 2007 by Jupiter Entertainment Venture as Asianet Suvarna) was a leader in Kannada prime-time fiction, and Suvarna Plus was conceived as a companion channel with a deliberately different personality — a stress buster and complete entertainer, in contrast to Suvarna's fiction-led positioning as a companion to viewers.
The Original GEC Format and Tagline
In its original form, Suvarna Plus was a Kannada general entertainment channel offering comedy, non-fiction, movies and music, with content aimed at the entire family. Its launch line-up included comedy fiction shows, reality shows, chat shows, film-based shows and music, along with youth-targeted programming such as the show Campus Connect. The channel's tagline was "Masthi Swalpa Jaasthi", capturing the idea of getting "a bit more" of everything and promising viewers something extra in entertainment. At launch, Star was noted as the only broadcaster with two general entertainment channels in the Kannada market, giving it an unusual depth of presence in the state.
Transition to a 24-Hour Movie Channel
After its launch as a second GEC, Suvarna Plus gradually reshaped its schedule, and over time it was reformed into a 24-hour movie channel. In doing so, it became the second full-time Kannada movie channel after Udaya Movies, the Sun Network channel that had long dominated the genre. The transition mirrored a pattern seen in other South Indian markets, where broadcasters converted secondary general entertainment channels into movie channels to monetise growing film libraries — a path also followed by channels such as Vijay Super in Tamil. The movie-channel format gave the network a dedicated home for its Kannada film acquisitions and premieres.
Rebrand to Star Suvarna Plus
On 25 July 2016, the channel was rebranded as Star Suvarna Plus, alongside its sister channel which became Star Suvarna. The rebrand brought the Suvarna channels fully under the Star brand identity, reflecting Star India's complete ownership of Asianet Communications (achieved in March 2014). The flagship channel Star Suvarna subsequently launched its high-definition simulcast, Star Suvarna HD, on 15 July 2017 with HD visuals and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 sound. Star Suvarna Plus itself continued as a standard-definition movie channel, and it remains without an HD feed — a point industry observers have noted as a drawback, given that rival Zee Picchar launched an HD variant and became the first Kannada movie channel with an HD feed.
The 2023 Graphics Revamp
After being left largely untouched for seven years, the channel received a full graphics revamp on 28 October 2023, unveiled during the channel premiere of the blockbuster film Kantara. The new on-air look introduced a purple-and-yellow colour combination with a fresh design, along with a new tagline. As part of the refresh, the channel began displaying the name of the currently airing movie under its logo, and adjusted its movie telecast pattern so that channel premieres air at 6 pm on Saturdays. The revamp signalled renewed investment in the channel's presentation after years in which its on-air identity had remained static.
Programming: Sandalwood Films Around the Clock
The channel's programming is centred on Kannada cinema. Its film library spans commercial Sandalwood releases, and its schedule features daily movie telecasts with weekend premieres of recent films. The Saturday 6 pm premiere slot has become the channel's showcase window for new television premieres of Kannada films. In addition to films, the channel airs cinema-related specials and events tied to the Kannada film industry. During the festive season, the channel participates in JioStar's network-wide world television premiere slate: recent festive line-ups have included the Kannada premieres of films such as Blast, Mr. X, Maa Inti Bangaram, Mango Pachcha and Dhurandhar The Revenge, scheduled across October and November.
Viewership and Market Position
Star Suvarna Plus has established itself as the second most-watched Kannada movie channel, ranking behind Udaya Movies in the genre. The Kannada movie-channel market includes Udaya Movies (Sun Network), Star Suvarna Plus, Zee Picchar (launched March 2020, the only Kannada movie channel with an HD feed) and Colors Kannada Cinema (launched September 2018). Industry analysis of the channel has noted that while it does not always match the headline ratings of its flagship sibling Star Suvarna, it delivers an engaged audience for advertisers seeking the Kannada market, and its distribution across DTH and cable platforms gives it solid reach in Karnataka as measured by BARC India.
Ownership: From Asianet Communications to JioStar
The channel's ownership history follows that of the Suvarna network. Suvarna was launched in June 2007 by Jupiter Entertainment Venture as Asianet Suvarna, part of Asianet Communications. Star India acquired a 51 percent stake in Asianet Communications in November 2008 through the Star Jupiter joint venture with Jupiter Entertainment Ventures, increased its stake to 75 percent in July 2010, and took full ownership in March 2014. When The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox in March 2019, the Star India channels — including the Suvarna bouquet — became part of Disney India. The subsequent combination of Viacom18 and Disney India's media businesses formed JioStar, the joint venture that owns and operates Star Suvarna Plus today.
Sister Channel: Star Suvarna
Star Suvarna Plus's closest sibling is Star Suvarna, the flagship Kannada general entertainment channel launched on 17 June 2007. Star Suvarna was the first channel in India to give dedicated importance to Tulu-language programming in 2010, and it remains one of the leading Kannada GECs with a strong prime-time fiction line-up. The two channels operate as a pair: Star Suvarna drives fiction viewing while Star Suvarna Plus monetises the network's movie library. Content from the channels also feeds into JioHotstar, the JioStar streaming platform, extending their reach to digital audiences.
Distribution and Availability
Star Suvarna Plus is distributed as a pay television channel across major direct-to-home operators and cable networks in India, with its core audience in Karnataka. The channel's availability on the leading DTH platforms ensures that its reach figures are not constrained by distribution gaps, a factor that matters for both viewership measurement and advertising. Its content is also accessible through JioHotstar, allowing viewers to watch the network's Kannada programming on streaming devices alongside the linear broadcast.
