BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--STARZ, the best overall value in premium pay television and the most watched family of pay TV networks in the United States*, announced the successful launch today of its “STARZ” digital retail service, providing STARZ streaming subscriptions directly to consumers and offering the first-ever download capabilities from a premium pay TV streaming service.
For $8.99 per month, fans now have the opportunity to enjoy instant access to more than 2,400 selections each month, including STARZ hit series ranging from “Outlander,” “Power” and the upcoming “American Gods” and other TV content, to Hollywood hits and popular movies including Avengers: Age of Ultron and, later this year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In celebration of the launch of the new STARZ app, the second installment premiere episode of the STARZ hit series, “Outlander,” will be made available beginning April 7 for streaming and download in advance of its official premiere on STARZ on April 9 at 9PM ET/PT.
The standalone “STARZ” service allows for up to four users to watch simultaneously and virtually unlimited downloads. STARZ is available today through the App Store for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV, with the app supporting universal search through the Siri Remote. The new STARZ app is also available through the Google Play Store on a wide range of Android supported devices.
Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said, “Starz has entered the market today with an enormous value proposition for consumers. Our programing will now be more widely available to the 20 million broadband only homes of cord nevers, cord cutters and cord shavers, including Millennials and other underserved consumers who need other viable subscription service options.
“With the growing consumer appetite for our highly-rated, award–winning and diverse original programing and vast library of movies, our elegant and powerful app is the first in the industry to allow download capability to watch premium content anytime, anywhere, without the need for Wi-Fi access. Showcasing the rebranded STARZ offerings we announced last month, we believe this innovative app will also help fortify the broadband business of many of our traditional distributors and be even more appealing for inclusion in future video bundles.”
STARZ subscribers from cable, satellite and telco partners can also authenticate and view STARZ in the new, easy-to-use app. Users can purchase a subscription or authenticate STARZ directly in-app or on their PC/Mac and watch every episode of every season of the best of STARZ’s original programming, as well as the biggest, most extensive movie library of all the premium subscription networks in the U.S.**
As a single app destination for all subscribers who want to stream or download STARZ premium content, the intuitive content discovery design and navigation offers ease of use and a compelling user experience regardless of how the consumer purchased a subscription to STARZ. Subscribers to the STARZ sister networks, STARZ ENCORE and MOVIEPLEX, will also use this single destination app for access to streaming and downloadable content.
Further information on supported devices is available at www.starz.com/settings/faq.
STARZ Originals in 2016 include “Black Sails,” “Outlander,” “The Girlfriend Experience,” “Power,” “Survivor’s Remorse,” “Blunt Talk,” and “Ash vs Evil Dead,” and the first STARZ Original movie, The Dresser. Exclusive hit movies on STARZ in 2016 include: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Inside Out, Pixels, Concussion, The Good Dinosaur, Ricki and the Flash, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Cinderella, Tomorrowland, The Wedding Ringer and Ant-Man. Popular movie and television programming on the new STARZ ENCORE includes: I, Robot, Fever Pitch, Never Been Kissed, 22 Jump Street, Dances With Wolves, Gone Baby Gone, Monsters, Inc., Spider-Man 3, Superbad, Total Recall, True Grit, “Magnum, P.I.,” “Diff’rent Strokes,” “The Jeffersons,” and “Gunsmoke.”
About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television networks (Starz Networks) and global content distribution (Starz Distribution), www.starz.com. The Starz Networks operating unit is home to the flagship STARZ® brand with 23.6 million subscribers in the United States as of December 31, 2015, with the STARZ ENCORESM network at 32.2 million subscribers. Through STARZ, the company provides high quality, entertaining premium subscription video programming with 17 premium pay TV channels and associated on-demand and online services. STARZ is sold through U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, telecommunications companies, and other online and digital platforms. Starz offers subscribers more than 5,000 distinct premium television episodes and feature films every year and up to 1,500 every month, including STARZ Original series, first-run movies and other popular movie and television programming. The Starz Distribution operating unit is home to the Anchor Bay Entertainment, Starz Digital, and Starz Worldwide Distribution divisions. In addition to STARZ Original series, Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires movies, television and other entertainment content for worldwide home video, digital, and television licensing and sales.
* source: Nielsen, full-year 2015 Total Day P2+ Average Audience Live
+ Same Day Projections for premium packs.
** source: Starz
internal analysis of distinct movie title data for the period
1/1/2015-12/31/2015.
