Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Pay TV, although it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones. The company commenced operations in 1995.

It is owned by Austar United Communications Limited (ASX: AUN). Austar United itself is owned by a US-based company, UnitedGlobalCom (UGC) , and Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners (CHAMP) , who together own around 81.5% of the company.

Austar also owns 50% of XYZnetworks , a pay television program provider, a 50-50 joint venture between Foxtel and Austar.

Pay Television

Austar's main business is pay television, serving customers outside of the major metro areas. It takes programming from both Foxtel and Optus services, and operates in both analog and digital platforms. The company services one-third of the Australian population, mainly outside the major capital cities, and including Hobart and Darwin (via cable). The service is distributed mainly via satellite.

Channel Lineup

Note: this is the Austar Digital package. The Analog package is considerably diffrerent, and some channels are available only as add-ons to the standard Analog package. Some businesses (namely hotels and motels) take on a customized package, with some channels not included. Please check with [www.austar.com.au] for details.

Essentials (the bare minimum you can subscribe to):

• Entertainment
  • W
  • Arena
  • Fox8
  • FashionTV
  • Expo Channel
  • Fox Classics
  • TV1
  • TVSN
  • The Lifestyle Channel
• Music
  • Channel V
  • CMC (Country Music Channel)
  • Air
  • Max
• Documentaries:
  • The Discovery Channel
  • National Geographic Channel
  • ABC
• Sport
  • Fox Sports 1
  • Fox Sports 2
  • Fox Footy Channel
  • Sky Racing
  • Eurosport News
• Kids
  • The Disney Channel
  • Nickeloden
  • Cartoon Network
• News
  • BBC World
  • Sky News Australia
  • The Weather Channel
  • Bloomberg Television
  • SBS
  • CNBC Australia
  • CNN
  • Fox News Channel
• Pay-Per-View (pay by the event/movie, or per month):
  • Main Event
  • Box Office
  • Adults Only Select

General Entertainment Options (add-ons which can be added to the Essential package, or included as part of other plans (e.g. Deluxe)

• Laughter and Living
  • The Comedy Channel
  • Hallmark Channel
  • Lifestyle Food
  • How To Channel
  • VH1
  • UK TV
  • Discovery Health
  • E!
• Quest and Adventure
  • The History Channel
  • A1
  • Discover Travel and Adventure
  • Discovery Science
  • Ovation
  • The Biography Channel
  • Animal Planet
• Fun and Entertainment
  • MTV
  • ESPN
  • Animal Planet
  • Fuel
  • Club V
  • Nick Jr.
  • Boomerang

Movie Packages (add-ons which can be added to the Essential package, or included as part of other plans (e.g. Deluxe)

• Showtime
  • Showtime 1
  • Showtime 2
  • Showtime Greats
  • World Movies
  • TCM (Turner Classic Movies)
• Movie Network
  • Movie One
  • Movie One Take Two
  • Movie Greats
  • Movie Extra
  • World Movies
  • TCM (Turner Classic Movies)

Other Add-ons (add-ons which can be added to the Essential package, or included as part of other plans (e.g. Deluxe)

• Games
  • Mind Games
  • Arcade
  • Playin' TV
• Adults
  • Adults Only

Channel line-up

Channels on the Austar Digital service:

• Channel 101 - TV1
• Channel 103 - UK.TV
• Channel 105 - Arena TV
• Channel 106 - The LifeStyle Channel
• Channel 108 - FOX8
• Channel 111 - FOX Classics
• Channel 113 - W (formerly known as fx)
• Channel 114 - BOX OFFICE Preview Channel
• Channel 116 - LifeStyle Food
• Channel 118 - How To Channel
• Channel 120 - THE COMEDY CHANNEL
• Channel 122 - E!
• Channel 124 - Hallmark Channel
• Channel 129 - Ovation
• Channel 130 - Fashion TV
• Channel 135 - TVSN
• Channel 140 - The Expo Channel

• Channel 401 - SHOWTIME
• Channel 402 - SHOWTIME + 2
• Channel 404 - SHOWTIME GREATS
• Channel 409 - TCM
• Channel 410 - World Movies
• Channel 411 - MOVIE ONE
• Channel 412 - MOVIE ONE Take Two
• Channel 413 - MOVIE EXTRA
• Channel 415 - MOVIE GREATS

• Channel 501 - FOX Sports One
• Channel 502 - FOX Sports Two
• Channel 506 - FOX Footy Channel
• Channel 509 - EUROSPORTNEWS
• Channel 511 - ESPN
• Channel 513 - Fuel
• Channel 515 - Sky Racing

• Channel 521 - Adults Only
• Channel 521 - Main Event

• Channel 550 - Games World
• Channel 555 - The Arcade
• Channel 565 - Mind Games
• Channel 565 - Ludi TV

• Channel 601 - Sky News Australia
• Channel 602 - FOX News
• Channel 603 - CNN International
• Channel 604 - BBC World
• Channel 605 - Bloomberg Television
• Channel 606 - CNBC Australia
• Channel 609 - The Weather Channel

• Channel 630 - Discovery Channel
• Channel 632 - National Geographic Channel
• Channel 634 - Animal Planet
• Channel 636 - Adventure One
• Channel 638 - Discovery Travel and Adventure Channel
• Channel 640 - Discovery Health Channel
• Channel 642 - The Biography Channel
• Channel 644 - The History Channel
• Channel 646 - Discovery Science Channel
• Channel 648 - Crime and Investigation Network

• Channel 701 - Nickelodeon
• Channel 703 - Nick Jr.
• Channel 707 - Disney Channel
• Channel 710 - Cartoon Network
• Channel 712 - Boomerang

• Channel 801 - Channel (V)
• Channel 803 - Club (V)
• Channel 805 - MAX (formerly known as musicMAX)
• Channel 808 - MTV
• Channel 810 - VH1
• Channel 815 - Country Music Channel

• Channel 928 - Australian Christian Channel
• Channel 941 - Antenna Pacific (Greek)
• Channel 942 - RAI International (Italian)
• Channel 955 - Adults Only
• Channel 999 - Austar's Service Station

External links

• Austar webpage
• Austar United webpage