Starz

Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay-TV network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the main property of Starz Inc. Launched on February 1, 1994 as an additional offering of what is now Starz Encore, its programming consists of theatrically released motion pictures and first-run original television series. Starz operates six 24-hour, linear channels; a traditional subscription video on demand service; and a over-the-top streaming platform with the same name that both acts as a TV Everywhere 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 television providers a la carte through Apple TV Channels and Amazon Video Channels, which feature video on demand library content and live feeds of Starz's linear television services (consisting of the primary channel's East and West Coast feeds and, for Amazon Video customers, the East Coast feeds of its five channels). Starz's programming has been licensed for use by a number of channels and platforms worldwide, and the brand name is licensed by Bell Media for a companion channel of the Canada-based company's Crave premium service.

Starz and its sibling networks,  Starz Encore and MoviePlex, are headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with satellite office facilities located at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Englewood, Colorado, and at a small office located on 5th Avenue in New York City. , Starz was available to approximately 28.517 million American households that had a subscription to a multichannel television provider (27.675 million of which receive Starz's primary channel at minimum). Starz's video on demand streaming media service had 27.92 million paid subscribers as of 2024.

The Starz streaming service was made available on Amazon Prime Video as a bundle with MGM+ in 2023 and with HBO Max in 2025. A separate bundle with Britbox through the Starz website was made available in 2024.

Programming

Film library
, Starz and sister networks Starz Encore and MoviePlex have exclusive first-run film licensing agreements with Lionsgate Films (since 2022, including Summit Entertainment since 2023) and Universal Pictures (since 2022, after each films' 18 month window on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video).

On March 2, 2021, Lionsgate announced films from Lionsgate Films would air on Starz for first-run rights starting in 2022, except Summit Entertainment which would start airing on Starz in 2023 after output deals with Hulu and HBO expired at the end of 2021 and 2022 respectively. On July 15, 2021, Starz reached a licensing deal with Universal Pictures for first-run movies 18 months after they streamed on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video respectively.

Despite being acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment in 2016, films released under the Lionsgate label did not air on Starz until 2022 due to an output deal with Epix until the end of 2019, then Hulu until the end of 2021. Summit Entertainment films did not air on Starz until 2023 due to an output deal with HBO until the end of 2022.

A previous first-run film output agreement with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures expired after December 2015, with Netflix taking over pay television rights in January 2016 (excluding films released by Touchstone Pictures, which remained with Starz through a separate contract). Through at least the first half of 2016, Starz offered Disney films that were released before the expiration, such as Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur, but none released after, such as Zootopia.

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 broadcast on Encore. These shows and documentaries were produced under the name Starz Encore Entertainment, which was formed in 1999. In 2005, Starz began expanding its original programming offering in order to compete with rivals Showtime, Cinemax and HBO, with the inclusion of scripted series. Starz Encore Entertainment was renamed Starz Originals. Some of the initial series (such as Kung Faux, The Bronx Bunny Show and Head Case) had running times considered unconventional for a live-action series, usually running under 15 minutes in length; half-hour and hour-long series were eventually added to the schedule by 2010 (including shows such as Spartacus, Torchwood: Miracle Day in 2011, Boss and Da Vinci's Demons).

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. The project, from Battlestar Galactica developer Ronald D. Moore and Sony Pictures Television, received a 16-episode order, with production beginning in Scotland (where the books are set) in October 2013. Outlander received five nominations for the 2015 Women's Image Network Awards, 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 purchase by Lionsgate, the network has moved to produce more original content, with president of programming Carmi Zlotnik calling Starz a "content pump" for Lionsgate.

See also
 PRISM (TV channel)

References

Other websites


 Starz Media corporate website

Category:2016 mergers and acquisitions
Category:Commercial-free television networks
Category:Companies based in Meridian, Colorado
Category:Former Liberty Media subsidiaries
Category:Movie channels in the United States
Category:Starz Entertainment
Category:Television channels and stations established in 1994
Category:Television networks in the United States