Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American
premium
Premium may refer to:
Marketing
* Premium (marketing), a promotional item that can be received for a small fee when redeeming proofs of purchase that come with or on retail products
* Premium segment, high-price brands or services in marketing, ...
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
and
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
television network
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...
owned by
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...
, and is the
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
property of parent subsidiary
Starz Inc.
Starz Entertainment LLC., (doing business as Starz Inc., and founded as Encore Movie Group in 1991) is an American entertainment company that owns U.S. pay television channels, including the namesake Starz network, and a media distribution comp ...
Programming on Starz consists of
theatrically released motion pictures
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and first-run
original
Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
. Created in 1994 as a
multiplex service of Encore (now
Starz Encore
Starz Encore is an American premium television channel owned by Starz Inc. a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment and headquartered at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado, United States. Launched as Encore ...
), Starz operates six 24-hour, linear multiplex channels; a traditional subscription
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
service; and a namesake
over-the-top
An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributors ...
streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
platform that both acts as a
TV Everywhere
TV Everywhere (also known as authenticated streaming or authenticated video on-demand) refers to a type of subscription business model wherein access to streaming video content from a television channel requires users to "authenticate" themselv ...
offering for Starz's linear television subscribers and is sold directly to streaming-only consumers.
Starz is also sold independently of traditional and
over-the-top
An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributors ...
multichannel video programming distributor Multichannel television in the United States has been available since at least 1948. The United States is served by multichannel television through cable television systems, direct-broadcast satellite providers, and various other wireline video pro ...
s
a la carte
A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...
through
Apple TV Channels
The Apple TV app (also known as Apple TV, TV, and the TV app) is a line of media player software programs developed by Apple Inc. for viewing television shows and films delivered by Apple to consumer electronic devices. It can stream content fr ...
and
Amazon Video Channels, which feature VOD library content and live feeds of Starz's linear television services (consisting of the primary channel's
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
and
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
feeds and, for Amazon Video customers, the East Coast feeds of its five multiplex channels). Starz's programming has been licensed for use by a number of channels and platforms worldwide, and the
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
name is licensed by
Bell Media
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
for a
companion channel of the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
-based company's
Crave premium service.
Starz and its sister networks,
Starz Encore
Starz Encore is an American premium television channel owned by Starz Inc. a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment and headquartered at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado, United States. Launched as Encore ...
and
MoviePlex
MoviePlex, stylized as movieplex since 2006, is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Starz Inc. subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment and headquartered at the Meridian International Business Center complex in ...
, are headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with satellite office facilities located at the Meridian International Business Center complex in
Englewood, Colorado
The City of Englewood is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 33,659 at the 2020 United States Census. Englewood is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...
, and at a small office located on 5th Avenue in New York City. , Starz was available to approximately 28.517 million U.S. households that had a subscription to a multichannel television provider (27.675 million of which receive Starz's primary channel at minimum).
History
Launch and early history
Starz, originally stylized as "STARZ!" with an exclamation point, was launched at 8:00 p.m.
Eastern Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
on February 1, 1994, primarily on cable systems operated by
Tele-Communications Inc.
Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI) was a cable television provider in the United States, and for most of its history was controlled by Bob Magness and John Malone.
The company was started in 1958 in Bozeman, Montana as Western Microwave, Inc. and Co ...
; the first two movies aired on the network were dramas released in 1992: respectively, ''
Scent of a Woman''
and ''
The Crying Game
''The Crying Game'' is a 1992 thriller film written and directed by Neil Jordan, produced by Stephen Woolley, and starring Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, Adrian Dunbar, Ralph Brown, and Forest Whitaker. The film explores the ...
''. The network was operated as a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
between TCI and
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation (commonly referred to as Liberty Media or just Liberty) is an American mass media company controlled by chairman John C. Malone. The company has three divisions, reflecting the company's ownership stakes in Formula One ...
(both companies were controlled by
John Malone
John Carl Malone (born March 7, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman, landowner and philanthropist. He was chief executive officer (CEO) of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), a cable and media giant, for twenty-four years from 1973 to 1996. ...
), with TCI owning a 50.1% controlling interest in the channel.
Starz made its debut as the first phase of a seven-channel thematic
multiplex
Multiplex may refer to:
* Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make
* Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain
* Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company
* Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...
that was launched by Starz (then Encore Media Group) over the course of the succeeding eight months, with the remaining six channels being launched between July and September 1994.
The multiplex was intended to only include six channels, but on May 31, 1993, Encore acquired the pay cable rights to telecast recent feature films from
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
released after that year; as a result, TCI/Liberty decided to create an additional premium pay TV service to serve as a competitor to
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
and
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
.
The network carried the moniker "Encore 8" in its on-air branding as part of a numbering system that was used by Encore's multiplex channels. Early trademark filings indicated that TCI/Liberty proposed names including "Applause" and "Stars" for the service (the "s" in the latter was ultimately changed to a "z" in the final naming).
Starz focused more on recent feature films, while Starz Encore (then Encore) focused on films released between the 1960s and the 1980s, before adding recent film fare itself in July 1999. It also held the television rights to releases from
Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit ...
,
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
(as well as its sibling labels
Fine Line Features
Fine Line Features (often spelled as FineLine Features) was the specialty films division of New Line Cinema. From 1991 to 2005, under founder and president Ira Deutchman, Fine Line acquired, distributed and marketed films of a more "indie" flavor ...
and
Turner Pictures
Turner may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name
*One who uses a lathe for turni ...
), and the
Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
–owned studios
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...
,
Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Established on February 1, 1989, by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then-studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood ...
and
Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a leadi ...
. Films from those studios were not carried on Starz until 1997, after Disney's output agreement with Showtime for its non-family-oriented films concluded. The network restricted the scheduling of films that contained graphic sexual or violent content to late evening and overnight time periods.
Starz's availability was mainly limited to TCI's systems at launch, debuting with a one-month
free preview
A free preview (also called a free preview weekend and sometimes referred to under the portmanteau "freeview") is a Stunting (broadcasting), stunt programming concept in which a pay television service or channel tier is exhibited without Broadcast ...
available to prospective subscribers; it would eventually sign its first major carriage agreement outside the TCI group, through a deal with Continental Cablevision in September 1995. Starz was available to an estimated 2.8 million pay television subscribers by 1996, only one million of whom had subscribed to a cable or satellite provider other than TCI. As a startup network, Starz endured major losses during its early years, with total deficits topping US$203 million and annual losses of US$150 million by 1997. It was predicted to lose an additional US$300 million in revenue before it was predicted to break even. In June 1997,
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
signed an agreement to carry the network on its
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
systems to replace
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
-based
PRISM
Prism usually refers to:
* Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light
* Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron
Prism may also refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...
after that network shut down that October following the loss of its (and sister network
SportsChannel Philadelphia
SportsChannel Philadelphia was an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between Rainbow Sports, a unit of the Rainbow Media subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation, and NBC (which both owned 50%), and operated as an aff ...
's) sports programming to
Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
NBC Sports Philadelphia is an American regional sports network owned by the NBC Sports Group unit of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by locally based cable television provider Comcast (and owns a controlling 75% interest), and the Philadelph ...
. Partly in an effort to get the network's substantial losses off its books, TCI announced a deal on June 2, 1997, in which it transferred majority ownership of the corporate entity that operated Starz, Encore Media Group, to sister company Liberty Media; TCI retained a 20% minority ownership interest in Encore Media Group. Liberty Media assumed the former company's stake in the subsidiary in 1999, following TCI's merger with
AT&T Corporation
AT&T Corporation, originally the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is the subsidiary of AT&T Inc. that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agen ...
.
By May 1998, Starz maintained a subscriber base reaching 7.6 million households with a cable or satellite television subscription.
2000s onwards
![Starz Logo2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Starz_Logo2005.png)
The network gained carriage deals with many other major U.S. cable and satellite providers by the early 2000s, particularly with the adoption of
digital cable
Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previou ...
, allowing for providers to add channels that they (even with capacity expansions of up to 60 channels) previously had limited room to carry.
Encore Media Group was renamed the Starz Encore Media Group in 2000. As part of a corporate restructuring plan in 2003, Starz Encore Group eliminated 100 jobs in its nine regional offices, and closed four of the offices outright. On March 25, 2005, the Starz Encore Group corporate entity was renamed Starz Entertainment. A few days later, on March 28, 2005, Starz introduced a new logo, and was subsequently rebranded as "starz", in all lowercase.
![Starz 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Starz_2008.png)
On November 19, 2009, Liberty Media spun off Starz into a separate public
tracking stock
Tracking stock, also known as letter stock and targeted stock, is a specialized equity offering issued by a company that is based on the operations of a defined business within the larger organization (such as, for instance, a wholly owned subsid ...
called Liberty Starz. On January 1, 2010,
Chris Albrecht
Chris Albrecht (born July 24, 1952) is an American media executive. He is the head of television at Legendary Entertainment and was previously chief executive officer and President of Starz. Albrecht was also the former chairman and CEO of HBO. ...
joined Starz as its president and
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, then overseeing all of the Starz entities including Starz Entertainment,
Overture Films
Overture Films was an American film production and distribution company and a subsidiary of Starz (then subsidiary of Liberty Media). It was founded in November 2006 by Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett. Through its affiliated companies Anchor Bay E ...
,
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...
and
Film Roman
Film Roman, LLC is an American independent animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and later by Waterman Entertainment, ...
. On August 8, 2012, Liberty Media announced that it would spin off the Liberty Starz subsidiary into a separate publicly traded company. The spin-off of the subsidiary was completed on January 11, 2013, with Liberty Starz changing its name to Starz as a result.
![Starz 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Starz_2016.svg)
On April 5, 2016, Starz was rebranded, introducing a new logo, this time stylized as "STARZ" in all uppercase. As part of the rebranding, Starz added all the
Encore
An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...
channels to its moniker, therefore increasing the Starz channel lineup to 14 Starz premium channels. Its main channel was rebranded Starz Encore and carries reruns of Starz Originals in addition to films.
On June 30, 2016,
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
agreed to acquire Starz Inc. for $4.4 billion in cash and stock; the acquisition was completed five months later on December 8.
In April 2019, Starz was widely criticized in the tech press and by the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ci ...
for sending legal demands to
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
in order to remove links to a news article which discussed piracy but contained neither pirated content nor links to pirated content. Starz initially responded by issuing further
DMCA
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or s ...
complaints against those criticizing them, including against a tweet from the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ci ...
stating that "Starz should withdraw its takedown and refrain from harassing journalists". However, they subsequently apologized, clarified that the invalid DMCA claims were sent on their behalf by a third party contractor called The Social Element and promised that they are "working with our vendors to reinstate any such content that was inappropriately targeted for removal."
Channels
List of channels
Depending on the service provider, Starz provides up to twelve multiplex channels – six 24-hour multiplex channels, all of which are
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
in both
standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
and
high definition – as well as a
subscription video-on-demand service (Starz On Demand). Starz broadcasts its primary and multiplex channels on Eastern and
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00) ...
schedules. The respective coastal feeds of each channel are usually packaged together (though most cable providers only offer the east and west coast feeds of the main Starz channel), resulting in the
difference in local airtimes for a particular movie or program between two geographic locations being three hours at most.
The premium film services Encore and MoviePlex, which are also owned by Starz, Inc., operate as separate services; as such, subscribers to one of the services do not have to subscribe to any of the others. Some providers offer Encore and MoviePlex's multiplex channels on a separate digital cable tier from Starz. However, Encore and, depending on its carriage, MoviePlex are frequently sold together in a package with Starz.
Background
In 1994, Encore launched the pay television industry's first "themed" multiplex service – seven additional movie channels that each focused on a specific genre. This was intended to include only six channels, but Encore decided to launch Starz as a competitor to HBO and Showtime after it acquired the pay-TV rights to broadcast films by Universal Studios released after 1993.
A numbering system was used for each service to identify itself as an Encore channel, though this system was abandoned for most of the channels in 1996, with the tagline "an encore network" (which Starz! also used, albeit sparingly) being used from then until 2002. Starz continued to heavily include the "Encore 8" moniker in its main
IDs
IDS may refer to:
Computing
* IBM Informix Dynamic Server, a relational database management system
* Ideographic Description Sequence, describing a Unihan character as a combination of other characters
* Integrated Data Store, one of the first da ...
, feature presentation bumpers and select bumpers until 2002, even as it transitioned into a separate channel from Encore.
The tie to Encore branding-wise continued even as Starz was given its own slate of multiplex channels in the late 1990s. The first of these to debut was Starz! 2 in 1996, maintaining a set lineup of four different movies scheduled at the same times each day (inspired by the scheduling used by
movie theater
A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
s) with the slate of films changing each Friday. This was followed in 1997 by the debut of a joint venture with
BET Networks
Black Entertainment Television LLC, doing business as BET Networks, is an American entertainment company that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship service BET. It is a subsidiary of media conglomerate Pa ...
called BET Movies: Starz! 3. Two additional multiplex channels began operations in May 1999. Starz! Family carried family-oriented
theatrical
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
and
home video
Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
film releases, was launched possibly in response to HBO's own family-oriented multiplex channel, HBO Family, which debuted three years earlier. The other service was Starz! Cinema, a channel featuring critically acclaimed independent films and movies outside the mainstream cinema. Starz! 2 was also renamed Starz! Theater to better reflect its format.
The first changes made following the original rollout of the multiplex occurred in 2001, with the rebranding of BET Movies: Starz! as Black Starz! after BET withdrew from the partnership during its acquisition by Viacom (which owned rival pay service Showtime at the time) in 2001. A seventh Starz multiplex channel was launched in 2004: Starz! Kids was created as a movie service featuring films aimed at children between 2 and 11 years of age, maintaining a format similar to that of Starz! Family. Unlike the other Starz multiplex channels, Starz! Kids was launched on cable systems on a case-by-case basis instead of on a broader national scale.
The entire multiplex was overhauled on March 28, 2005, as part of an extensive rebranding of the Starz and Encore services. While Encore debuted a slightly modified logo and applied the "Encore" brand to the names of its six multiplex channels, Starz underwent a more dramatic makeover, with a completely redesigned logo – which included the
exclamation mark
The exclamation mark, , or exclamation point (American English), is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or to show emphasis. The exclamation mark often marks the end of a sentence, f ...
being dropped from the channel's name – and a standardized graphics package that was implemented across all of its channels (with some modifications for each channel's format).
The programming formats of several channels changed entirely: Starz! Theater was relaunched as Starz Edge, a movie channel aimed primarily at men 18 to 34 years old (nicknamed "The New Generation" by the channel). Starz! Kids and Starz! Family were combined into a single channel called Starz Kids and Family, to make room for a new channel focusing on comedic feature films called Starz Comedy. Black Starz! also changed its name to Starz InBlack. The only multiplex channel (other than the primary feed) that retained its original name was Starz Cinema.
The Starz multiplex has been marketed under several names over the years including the "Starz Encore Super Pak" and the "Starz Super Pak". The multiplex now has no "official" marketed name .
On March 28, 2016, Starz introduced a new logo and tagline, "Obsessable". This coincides with a revamp of the Starz channels effective April 5 of that year. All of Encore's channels will now take on the "Starz" brand, while Encore's main channel will be rebranded "Starz Encore", which will air reruns of Starz originals in addition to films. Starz now has 14 channels in its package.
Other services
Starz HD
![Starz HD logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Starz_HD_logo.svg)
Starz HD is a high-definition simulcast feed of Starz that broadcasts in the
1080i
1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the screen. ...
resolution format. In addition to its main channel, Starz also operates high-definition simulcast feeds of its five multiplex channels. When it was launched in December 2003, the simulcast covered only the east and west coast feeds of the main Starz channel. An
enhanced-definition simulcast feed and a separate HD channel called Sharper Movies HD, that would have broadcast in the 1080i format and be structured similarly to the original format of sister channel Encore's MoviePlex (in which Sharper Movies would broadcast programming from each Starz channel in daily sampler blocks), were also planned. Plans for the latter service were dropped because of a lack of interest from providers to charge a premium fee for the network. HD feeds of Starz Kids and Family, Starz Comedy and Starz Edge, followed in 2007.
The remaining Starz multiplex channels, Starz Cinema and Starz In Black, launched their HD simulcast feeds on June 23, 2010, with
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
becoming the first provider to offer all six channels (including both coastal feeds of the primary Starz channel) in HD. Among others, Starz HD is carried nationally by satellite providers DirecTV and
Dish Network
DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
and regionally by
Verizon FiOS,
AT&T U-verse
U-verse TV is a DirecTV brand of IPTV service. Launched on June 26, 2006, U-verse included broadband Internet (now AT&T Internet or AT&T Fiber), VoIP, IP telephone (now AT&T Phone), and IPTV (U-verse TV) services in 48 states. ,
Comcast Xfinity
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the com ...
,
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
, Cox Communications,
Cablevision
Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...
and
Charter Communications
Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...
.
Starz On Demand
Starz operates a video-on-demand (VOD) television service called Starz On Demand, which is available at no additional charge to new and existing Starz subscribers. The service was launched on September 19, 2001, debuting on
Adelphia Communications
Adelphia Communications Corporation was an American cable television company with headquarters in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1952 by brothers Gus and John Rigas after the pair purchased a cable television franchise for US$300. C ...
'
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
system. The service offers early premieres of feature films that are scheduled to premiere on Starz, up to one month prior to their pay cable debut on the primary linear channel. Starz on Demand's rotating program selection incorporates selected new titles that are added each Friday, and existing program titles held over from the previous one to two weeks. The Starz On Demand name was also used for an online broadband streaming movie service operated by Starz and
RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of artificial intelligence and computer vision based products. RealNetworks was a pioneer in Internet streaming software and services. They are based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The company also p ...
from 2003 to 2004. In March 2011, Starz On Demand launched a third VOD service (in addition to its standard-definition and high-definition VOD services), offering movies presented in
3D to customers of Comcast and Verizon FiOS at no additional charge.
Starzplay (U.S.)
![Starzplay-logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Starzplay-logo.svg)
The original incarnation of Starzplay was a website and
mobile app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
that featured original programming and feature film content from Starz available for streaming in standard or high definition. It was available to Starz subscribers of Verizon FIOS, AT&T U-verse, Cox Communications,
Xfinity by Comcast and DirecTV until it was merged with Starz.com on April 5, 2016. The former incarnation of the Starzplay online service (which is structured as a
TV Everywhere
TV Everywhere (also known as authenticated streaming or authenticated video on-demand) refers to a type of subscription business model wherein access to streaming video content from a television channel requires users to "authenticate" themselv ...
-style service) was launched on October 8, 2012, with the release of the
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
,
iPhone and
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
app until they were merged with Starz.com on April 5, 2016.
The Starzplay name was borrowed from a prior service offered in conjunction with
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. It was created in 2008 after the subscription streaming service struck an agreement with Starz Entertainment to allow Netflix to sub-license rights to films from distributors that maintain output deals with the linear Starz channel for online viewing – in lieu of acquiring the digital distribution rights on its own, due to the expense of acquiring newer film titles – as Netflix is considered to be merely a "content aggregator". Because Netflix chose to sub-license digital rights through Starz instead of negotiating with the studios,
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...
threatened not to renew its output deal with Starz unless it either discontinued its deal with Netflix or paid Disney a licensing fee for digital streaming rights to its films (Netflix ended up assuming rights to most film releases by Walt Disney Studios from Starz in 2016).
Starzplay (as a Netflix service) was first made available to Starz subscribers of the Verizon FiOS television service. Starz content (including most of its original programming and series content that the channel acquired through domestic and international distributors) was made available on Netflix's "Watch Instantly" platform. It was the third subscription video-on-demand online streaming service operated by Starz: Starz Ticket operated from 2004 to 2006, under a joint venture between Starz Entertainment and RealNetworks. Starz offered its own separate online movie service,
Vongo, to its subscribers from 2006 until it discontinued the service on September 30, 2008.
On September 1, 2011, Starz announced that it would not renew its streaming agreement with Netflix, which ended on February 28, 2012; movie titles that are available on DVD from
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
, Disney and other studios that maintain pay television distribution deals with Starz were not affected and can be acquired from Netflix by this method. With the expiration of the Netflix deal, film content from studios with which Starz maintains broadcast rights were no longer available for online streaming, particularly as Netflix and certain similar services such as
Vudu
Vudu is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand rentals and digital purchases of films, ...
did not have separate streaming rights to films from these individual studios. Prior to the beta launch of its Starz Online service (which became Starzplay upon its official launch), Starz announced on November 18, 2011 that it was developing a streaming application for mobile devices, allowing the network's subscribers – and in early reports, speculation that possibly non-subscription television subscribers would be allowed as well – to view Starz's series and film content. The app was released on October 9, 2012 for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, and on May 7, 2013 for
Android devices.
An app for authenticated subscribers for the
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
was released on December 3, 2013, followed by a similar app for the
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
on August 5, 2014.
Lionsgate+
![Lionsgate+](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Lionsgate%2B.svg)
Lionsgate+ (previously Starzplay),
Starzplay Arabia, and Lionsgate Play (in the south and Southeast Asia region) are Starz' international streaming services for viewers outside North America.
Starzplay Arabia was the first Starz-branded service to be localized outside the United States, launching on April 2, 2015 in 17 countries in the
Middle East and North Africa
MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
region, breaching those territories before its biggest competitor in media streaming being Netflix. Starzplay Arabia remains available even as the U.S. version of the service has been discontinued. In 2018, the service became available in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, the first country outside the
MENA
MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
region where Starzplay was available. In 2019, Starzplay was launched in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. In 2020, it became available in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
In March 2022, a 57% majority stake in Starzplay Arabia was acquired by a consortium, led by
e& (formerly known as Etisalat) and the
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
-based investment group ADQ. The deal was valued at $420m. In January 2021, Starzplay Arabia signed a deal with Abu Dhabi Media, which allows subscribers to watch UFC fights and events live.
In several countries, Lionsgate+ is provided through partnerships with cable services, such as
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
in Spain,
Movistar TV
Movistar TV is a subscription television service operated by Telefónica. Currently, the service is available in Chile, Perú, Colombia, El Salvador, Venezuela and Argentina. In Spain, this service merged with the satellite platform Canal+, re ...
in Argentina,
IndiHome
IndiHome (abbreviated from Indonesia Digital Home) is a home telephone, internet, and Internet Protocol television services owned by Telkom Indonesia. IndiHome was launched on 2015 to replace Speedy (Telkom), Speedy. Its packages also come with di ...
in Indonesia and
PLDT Home in the Philippines or within
Apple TV
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
as well.
On September 28, 2022, Lionsgate announced the international Starzplay service would be rebranded as Lionsgate+ the following day in most countries,
eliminating much of the conflict between Lionsgate and
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's
Star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
brand. The Starzplay Arabia and Lionsgate Play services will not be affected at this time, while Starz in the U.S. and Canada merely rebranded with a new version of the "STARZ" logo.
In November 2022, it was announced that Lionsgate+ was ending operations in the markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux, the Nordics, and Japan before the end of the company's fiscal year.
Starz app and subscription service
On April 5, 2016, Starz launched a new app and over-the-top subscription service to compete with
HBO Now
HBO Now (formally named HBO from July 2020) was an American subscription video on demand streaming service for premium television network HBO owned by WarnerMedia subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Officially unveiled on March 9 and launched on ...
and
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
's OTT subscription service. The new app, which replaced the StarzPlay service, allowed users to access Starz programming regardless of whether they had a TV package or not. The Starz app also includes offline playback functionality, allowing users to download and watch content without an internet connection.
In response to the discontinuation of StarzPlay,
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
has blocked access to the new Starz app for
Comcast Xfinity
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the com ...
customers, forcing them to instead access the network's authenticated content through the Xfinity app and website and older StarzPlay apps on platforms such as
Roku
Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services.
The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduce ...
. Currently, Comcast is the only major distributor to do this.
Starz on Amazon Video
In the winter of 2015, Amazon Video began offering Starz and rival premium network Showtime as add-on subscriptions for their customers; the cost is $8.99 per month, after a seven-day free trial. The content deal between Amazon and Starz not only offers the channel's current and back catalog of programming, but also movies and classic TV series currently airing on Encore and its branded networks, as well as live East Coast feeds of the Starz-branded networks and Encore.
Programming
Film library
, Starz and sister networks Starz Encore and MoviePlex maintain exclusive first-run film licensing agreements with
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...
(since January 2005; including content from subsidiaries
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
,
Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produc ...
,
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...
,
Destination Films
Destination Films is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment currently specializing in action, thriller, niche sci-fi and low-end to medium-end horror films.
History
The original Destination Films was founded by Brent Baum and Steve Stabler ...
,
Triumph Films
Triumph Films (also known as Triumph Releasing Corporation) was a film studio division of Sony Pictures Entertainment that geared towards theatre and direct-to-video film production and distribution.
History
It was founded in 1982 as a joint vent ...
, and
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...
, but not
Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by Son ...
because they have a separate deal with
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
),
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...
,
EuropaCorp
EuropaCorp S.A. (stylised in opening logo as EUROPA CORP.) is a French motion picture company headquartered in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, and one of a few full service independent studios that both produces and distributes feature ...
and
Warren Miller Films (since 1997).
The first-run film output agreement with Sony was renewed for nine years on February 11, 2013; the Warren Miller output deal was renewed for ten years on October 19, 2009. On April 8, 2021, Sony announced that they would not be renewing the agreement with Starz in favor of a new first-run agreement with Netflix. On July 15, 2021, Starz reached a licensing deal with
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
for first-run movies 18 months after they stream on
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
and
Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service prim ...
respectively.
Starz also shows sub-runs (runs of films that have recently received broadcast or
syndicated television
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
airings) of theatrical films from
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...
(including subsidiaries
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...
,
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...
,
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
,
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
,
20th Century Studios
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
, and
Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Established on February 1, 1989, by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then-studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood ...
- all for films released before 2016),
Warner Bros. Entertainment
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
(including content from subsidiaries
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
,
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...
– both for films released prior to 2005 – and
Castle Rock Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a label of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself a subsidiar ...
),
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
(including content from subsidiaries
Universal Animation Studios
Universal Animation Studios (formerly known as Universal Cartoon Studios) is an American animation studio and a division of Universal Pictures, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast. It has produced direct-to-video sequels to Un ...
,
Focus Features
Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in th ...
, and
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
all for films released prior to 2003),
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
(including content from subsidiaries
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
,
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...
, and
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an American independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1978.
Background
The company originally distributed and acquired art-house films from ...
),
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
(including content from
DreamWorks Pictures
DreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG and formerly DreamWorks Studios, commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American film company and distribution label of Amblin Partners. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994 as a li ...
(pre-2011),
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
,
Nickelodeon Movies
Nickelodeon Movies is the film production arm of American children's network Nickelodeon and the family film distribution label of Paramount Pictures launched on February 25, 1995 and based in Los Angeles, California.
The division has earned n ...
,
Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a leadi ...
,
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage (also known as Paramount Classics) was a film distribution label of Paramount Pictures (which, in turn, has Paramount Global as its parent company), charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, generally ...
and television rights to the
Cannon Films
The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested ...
and
Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit ...
libraries),
Revolution Studios
Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC is an American motion picture and television studio headed by Chief Executive Officer Scott Hemming.
The company focuses primarily on the distribution, remake and sequel rights to titles in its librar ...
,
Overture Films
Overture Films was an American film production and distribution company and a subsidiary of Starz (then subsidiary of Liberty Media). It was founded in November 2006 by Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett. Through its affiliated companies Anchor Bay E ...
,
Yari Film Group
The Yari Film Group (YFG) is an independent film company headed by producer Bob Yari. The company deals in financing, production, acquisition, sales and distribution of theatrical feature films.
The Yari Film Group was formed in 2005 through t ...
, and the network's sister company
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...
(since 2012).
Films for which Starz has pay-cable rights usually also run on Encore and MoviePlex during the duration of its term of licensing. From 1995 to 2002, Starz had broadcast occasional original
made-for-pay cable movies produced by the in-house company Starz! Pictures.
In January 1997, Starz secured a licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures, broadcasting over 300 titles. Paramount's first contract with Starz expired in January 2006. In April 2013, Starz reassumed sub-run rights to Paramount Pictures' feature film releases. Films that were initially broadcast through this deal included ''
Dear God'', ''
All I Want for Christmas'' and ''
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
''.
Former first-run contracts
At the time of its launch, Starz had secured exclusive first-run film rights with Universal Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax, New Line Cinema, Walt Disney Pictures, and Carolco Pictures.
Between 1995 and 2005, Starz had also broadcast films from
Turner Pictures
Turner may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name
*One who uses a lathe for turni ...
and New Line Cinema. Starz's contract with Universal expired in late 2002, with HBO and Starz sharing half of Universal's films during the 2003 calendar year before HBO assumed pay television rights in 2004.
The first-run film output agreement with
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...
expired after December 2015, with
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
assuming pay television rights in January 2016 (excluding films released by Touchstone Pictures, which were retained by Starz through a separate contract).
Through at least the first half of 2016, Starz provided Disney films that were released before the expiration, such as ''
Inside Out'' and ''
The Good Dinosaur
''The Good Dinosaur'' is a 2015 American computer-animated adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Sohn (in his feature directorial debut) and p ...
'', but none released after, such as ''
Zootopia
''Zootopia'' (titled ''Zootropolis'' in various regions) is a 2016 American computer-animated buddy cop action comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 55th Disney animated feature film, ...
''.
Television series
Original programming
Starz expanded its program offerings to include some original television series by the late 1990s with five entertainment news programs and shows that focused on the making of upcoming or current feature films (such as ''Starz Movie News'' and ''Hollywood One on One''); some of these programs were also aired on Encore. In 2005, Starz began expanding its original programming slate in order to compete with rivals Showtime and HBO, with the inclusion of scripted series. Some of the initial series (such as ''
Kung Faux
''Kung Faux'' is an international action comedy television series and audiovisual art assemblage created by Mic Neumann, an American creator–developer showrunner, conceptual artist and multimedia entrepreneur, who remixes classic kung fu films ...
'', ''
The Bronx Bunny Show'' and ''
Head Case
''Head Case'' is an American sitcom starring Alexandra Wentworth as Dr. Elizabeth Goode, a therapist who treats Hollywood stars. Celebrities appear on the show as themselves. The show ran for three seasons, airing on the Starz TV Network, Wednes ...
'') maintained running times considered unconventional for a live-action series, usually running under 15 minutes in length; half-hour and hour-long series were eventually incorporated on the schedule by 2010 (including shows such as ''
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...
,
Torchwood: Miracle Day'' in 2011, ''
Boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
'' and ''
Da Vinci's Demons
''Da Vinci's Demons'' is a historical fantasy drama series that presents a fictional account of Leonardo da Vinci's early life. The series was conceived by David S. Goyer and stars Tom Riley in the title role. It was developed and produced in ...
'').
The number of original series that debuted each year on Starz has varied, reaching a high of four series during the 2011 calendar year. In 2013, Starz gave a series order to ''
Outlander'', a drama based on the
''Outlander'' book series by
Diana Gabaldon
Diana J. Gabaldon (; born January 11, 1952) is an American author, known for the ''Outlander'' series of novels. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science fiction/fantasy. ...
. The project, from ''
Battlestar Galactica
''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...
'' developer
Ronald D. Moore and
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...
, received a 16-episode order, with production beginning in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
(where the books are set) in October 2013. ''Outlander'' has received five nominations for the 2015
Women's Image Network Awards
Women's Image Network (WIN) is a charity that produces The Women's Image Awards, "Advancing a gender-balanced world and increasing the value of women and girls by celebrating outstanding film and television." The awards show is produced during ...
, including a nomination in the Drama Series category. Caitriona Balfe, who plays the leading character in the show, also received a nomination in the Actress Drama Series category.
After Starz's 2016 acquisition by
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
, the network has moved to produce more original content, with president of programming Carmi Zlotnik calling Starz a "content pump" for Lionsgate.
Acquired programming
Multiplex channel Starz Kids & Family also features some series programming, which are aimed at young children and preteens. That channel runs two program blocks: "Building Blocks", a block airing on Monday through Saturday mornings that features animated series (such as ''
Dragon Hunters
Dragon Hunters ( French: ''Chasseurs de dragons'') is an animated fantasy comedy television series created by Arthur Qwak and produced by the French company Futurikon and Tooncan. It follows the adventures of two hunters for hire through a medie ...
'', ''
Gawayn
Gawayn is an animated television series created and designed by Jan Van Rijsselberge. It is produced by Alphanim, Gaumont Animation, and Mondo TV, and the series has been dubbed into different languages. The title of the show refers to King Ar ...
'', ''
Zombie Hotel
''Zombie Hotel'' is a France, French/Republic of Ireland, Irish Animated series, animated children's television series about a hotel run by zombies, created by Jan Van Rijsselberge, produced by French production company Alphanim (now called Gau ...
'', ''
Savage Family Wild
The Green Squad is a French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethn ...
'' and ''
Matt's Monsters
''Matt's Monsters'' is an animated series broadcast by Disney Channel and Disney XD, and formerly on Jetix. ''Matt's Monsters'' debuted in May 23, 2008 in France, and in other countries in June 1, 2009. The series follows a nine-year-old boy nam ...
'') and the "Six Block" (originally titled "Camp Block" from its launch in March 2011 until the two-hour block was moved from mid-afternoon slots varying on the film schedule to a set timeslot of 6:00 pm Eastern Time in January 2012), a teenage-focused block airing weekday afternoons that features mainly imported series from English-speaking countries outside of America like Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom (such as ''
Wingin' It
''Wingin' It'' (originally titled ''Angel on Campus'' prior to its debut) is a Canadian teen sitcom which aired on Family. The series was produced by Temple Street Productions in association with Family. It stars Demetrius Joyette and Dylan Evere ...
'',
''
Genie in the House
''Genie in the House'' is a British sitcom broadcast on Nickelodeon about a widowed father (Philip) with two teenage daughters (Emma and Sophie) who find a golden lamp while exploring the loft of their new home. A rub of the lamp releases Adil ...
'', ''
Majority Rules'' and ''
Sadie J
''Sadie J'' is a British children's television comedy-drama series about a girl named Sadie Jenkins, who is described as "the only girl in a boys' world" because she is surrounded by her Dad Steve, his apprentice Keith, her brother Danny, his b ...
''). The two blocks are similar to those seen on sister channel Encore's multiplex channel
Encore Wam between 1994 and 2009.
Other ventures
Starz Entertainment has expanded considerably with the presence of its Starz and Encore family of multiplex networks, as well as ventures into television and film production, and home video distribution.
* In 1999, Starz launched the in-house company Starz Pictures, a production company that produced made-for-cable films for the television channel; Starz Pictures' only major film project was the 2002 telefilm ''
Joe and Max
''Joe and Max'' is a 2002 American-German boxing film directed by Steve James (producer), Steve James and based on the true story of the Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, two boxing matches between American Joe Louis and German Max Schmeling.
Plot
In ...
''. Starz Pictures shut down that same year.
* In November 2006,
Chris McGurk
Christopher J. McGurk (born January 16, 1957) became the chairman and chief executive officer of Cinedigm Digital Cinema in January 2011. He serves as director of Cookie Jar Entertainment Holdings, the Foundation of Motion Picture Pioneers; the ...
and Danny Rosett launched Overture Films, an independent movie studio that Liberty Media operated out of its Starz Entertainment division. After a proposed sale of the company failed to materialize through the absence of willing buyers, the studio was shut down in October 2010, with its marketing and distribution operations handed over to
Relativity Media
Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commercially s ...
; Overture's small library of less than 20 films will continue to be distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment for DVD release and by Starz for television broadcast.
* In 2007, Starz Entertainment purchased
IDT Entertainment
Starz Distribution (formerly IDT Entertainment and Starz Media) is the motion picture, animation, television, and home video operating unit of Starz Inc., a subsidiary of Lionsgate. Starz Distribution develops, produces, and acquires original ...
, which was renamed
Starz Media
Starz Distribution (formerly IDT Entertainment and Starz Media) is the motion picture, animation, television, and home video operating unit of Starz Inc., a subsidiary of Lionsgate. Starz Distribution develops, produces, and acquires original ...
. As a result of the purchase, Starz acquired IDT subsidiaries Anchor Bay Entertainment, Digital Production Solutions (DPS), and New Arc Entertainment.
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...
, a film studio run by former Miramax heads
Bob
Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to:
Places
* Mount Bob, New York, United States
*Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica
People, fictional characters, and named animals
*Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Bob (surname ...
and
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...
, purchased a 25% stake in Starz Media (but not the Starz parent company) on January 4, 2011, with Anchor Bay entering into a multi-year domestic distribution agreement of theatrical feature films released by The Weinstein Company and its
Dimension Films
Dimension Films is an American film production company owned by Lantern Entertainment. It was formerly used as Harvey and Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993, to produce and relea ...
subsidiary.
* As part of IDT Corporation's purchase by Starz, Starz Entertainment also acquired two animation studios: Toronto-based IDT animation studio (formerly DKP Studios), which was renamed
Starz Animation
Jam Filled Entertainment is a Canadian animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario with additional facilities in Toronto and Halifax and is a division of Boat Rocker Media. It is best known for animating ''Thomas & Friends'' between 2013 and 2020, ...
, and
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyro ...
, an international distributor of Japanese animation. A third animation studio that was also acquired due to the IDT purchase, Film Roman, was sold in October 2010 to a production company owned by a group of investors led by former Film Roman studio president Scott Greenberg called Bento Box Entertainment.
Branding
Starz's logo has incorporated a star in some form since its launch. In the original logo that was used from its launch in February 1994 until March 27, 2005, the star was composed of a two silhouettes (one star being embedded within a larger one), and a "STARZ!" logotype styled after 1930s-era movie poster typography. The original accompanying graphics were set around a CGI movie theater, with the main network ID featuring seats that opened by themselves, various theater imagery and even images resembling the
Caduceus
The caduceus (☤; ; la, cādūceus, from grc-gre, κηρύκειον "herald's wand, or staff") is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was also ...
, while feature presentation bumpers also heavily used the movie theater themes (using spotlights and film canisters) and the "Encore 8" branding. The "theater" look that had been used since the network's launch was ultimately abandoned in May 2002, when it switched to a package based around natural themes (particularly water); a seven-note fanfare was also introduced as a musical motif; the new look did not carry over to the multiplex channels. Starz! also introduced the "InfoBar", a lower-third banner graphic that appears on-screen during promotional breaks and during the
end credits
Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...
of films seen on the channel, originally purposed to promote upcoming programs.
This logo was abandoned for an abstract star shooting upwards and a
Helvetica Neue
Helvetica (originally Neue Haas Grotesk) is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann.
Helvetica is a neo-grotesque design, one influenced by the famous 19th century (1890s) ...
wordmark
__notoc__
A wordmark, word mark, or logotype, is usually a distinct text-only typographic treatment of the name of a company, institution, or product name used for purposes of identification and branding. Examples can be found in the graphic iden ...
in March 2005 as part of a major rebrand of the network
that included a blue colored gel standardized graphics package with modifications (different colors such as grey, red, green, purple, and orange) for each multiplex channel; the fanfare from the previous graphics package was also reorchestrated by Mixology Post. The "InfoBar" also began to be used to promote events on the other Starz networks and to provide entertainment news headlines supplied by ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' (a similar version was adopted for use by the Encore networks). That year, Starz began branding its feature film content with an opaque logo bug appearing on the lower-right corner of the screen for two minutes each half-hour, though the 2005 logo bug for Starz channels appears for the rest of the movie's run in Summer 2007, along with Encore and Movieplex channels until Starz reverted them back to 2 minutes for their logo bug during the April 2008 rebrand, except for Encore, Movieplex, and Starz Cinema; the addition of the on-screen logos was cited by former Starz president Tom Southwick due to a large number of subscribers not knowing which of the channels they were watching when they tuned in, particularly if started viewing one of the channels after the start of a film.
A new logo was introduced in April 2008, with lowercase "starz" typing featuring an
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
-shaped star inserted between the "a" and "r"; the coloring of the logo was modified to an orange/gold rendering in April 2011. The channel replaced the opaque on-screen logos with a bright white logo bug on all channels and a bright orange bug for Starz HD as of April 7, 2008 and Starz Kids & Family's HD simulcast feed in July 2011. After the 2011 logo rebrand, the bright white version of the 2008 logo for Starz channels stayed on screen for the second time until mid-2013 that it will reverted to two-minute version, along with Encore channels. After the current logo's introduction, the "InfoBar" began to once again serve only to promote programming on the main Starz channel, while it serves mainly as a network ID on some of its multiplex channels.
In 2016, Starz redesigned its logo again; the current logo is the word "STARZ" in bold white capital letters against a black background.
In 2022, following the rebrand of Lionsgate+, Starz got a new brand and is colored in blue (yellow for gradient), akin to Lionsgate's main color.
Network slogans
* ''Starz More of What You Want for Less'' (1994-???)
* ''Only on Starz and No Other Movie Channel'' (Early February 1994–August 1995)
* ''Starz! – Big Movies and More'' (September 1, 1995–Late October 1998)
* ''100% Movies'' (November 1, 1998–Late August 1999)
* ''Movies, Movies, New Hit Movies'' (September 1, 1999–Early September 2000)
* ''#1 in New Hit Movies'' (September 18, 2000–Late December 2004)
* ''An Influx of Movies – Only on Starz'' (Early January 2005–Late March 2008)
* ''Are You Ready?'' (April 2008–Late August 2012)
* ''Taking You Places'' (September 2012–March 2016)
* ''Obsessable'' (April 2016–September 2022)
* Just You Watch (September 2022-present)
See also
*
PRISM (TV channel)
PRISM (Philadelphia Regional In-home Sports and Movies) was an American regional premium cable television channel in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Launched in September 1976, PRISM was primarily distributed through area cable systems, alth ...
References
Notes
External links
*
Starz Media corporate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starz
Starz Entertainment Group
Companies based in Meridian, Colorado
Television channels and stations established in 1994
Television networks in the United States
Commercial-free television networks
Movie channels
Lionsgate subsidiaries
2016 mergers and acquisitions
Former Liberty Media subsidiaries