[12] Star featured classic, though cheaper and lesser-known, 1950s and 1960s programming,[1] movies and game shows under the TV Heaven slogan, with direct response infomercials rounding out the schedule.
[5] The network was introduced under the Starcast[6][7] branding in October 1987 as needing $15 million to launch and had just started contacting potential affiliates.
The network expected to sign up 30 stations by the April 1989 launch date and have 18 hours of broadcasting a day.
64 stations had provisionally signed on as affiliates in markets like Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Jacksonville, Florida and Orlando to an estimated reach of 40 million households.
At this time, the network restructured its affiliate agreement in dropping the annual carriage fee for the addition of some infomercials and a refundable deposit of $1,500 to $175,000 based on the station's size.
The infomercials would bring a steady source of income for the network and were mostly to be provided by Quantum Marketing International.
[12] Star launched on September 29, 1990[12] with 10 affiliates reaching 9 million homes, as the additional stations were not ready or failed to receive FCC approval.
[4] After Star's shutdown, another attempt at a viable fifth television network would be made in 1993, 2 years after, when the Warner Bros.
Both The WB & UPN would eventually be replaced in 2006 by The CW Network, another viable fifth television network joint venture between CBS Corporation (successor to the original Viacom & eventual full owner of UPN) & Warner Bros.