Starz

For the UK music video channel, see Starz TV. For other uses, see Starz (disambiguation).
Starz
Launched February 1, 1994 (1994-02-01)
Owned by Starz Inc.
Picture format
Slogan Obsessable
Country United States
Language
Broadcast area Nationwide
Headquarters Meridian, Colorado
Formerly called Starz! (1994–2005)
Sister channel(s)
Timeshift service
  • Starz East
  • Starz West
  • Starz Cinema East
  • Starz Cinema West
  • Starz Comedy East
  • Starz Comedy West
  • Starz Edge East
  • Starz Edge West
  • Starz Kids & Family East
  • Starz Kids & Family West
  • Starz In Black East
  • Starz In Black West
Website www.starz.com
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV
  • 525 Starz (East; SD/HD)
  • 526 Starz (West; SD/HD)
  • 527 Starz Kids & Family (HD)
  • 528 Starz Comedy (HD)
  • 529 Starz Edge (SD/HD)
  • 530 Starz In Black (SD/HD)
  • 531 Starz Cinema (HD)
  • 1527 Starz On Demand
Dish Network
  • 350 Starz (East; SD/HD)
  • 351 Starz (West; SD/HD)
  • 352 Starz Edge (SD/HD)
  • 353 Starz Cinema
  • 354 Starz Comedy (SD/HD)
  • 355 Starz In Black
  • 356 Starz Kids & Family (SD/HD)
Cable
Available on most U.S. cable systems Consult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability
IPTV
Verizon FIOS 340–347 (SD)
840 (HD)
AT&T U-verse
  • 902 Starz (East; SD)
  • 903 Starz (West; SD)
  • 904 Starz Edge (SD)
  • 906 Starz In Black (SD)
  • 908 Starz Cinema (SD)
  • 910 Starz Comedy (SD)
  • 912 Starz Kids & Family (SD)
  • 1902 Starz (East; HD)
  • 1903 Starz (West; HD)
  • 1904 Starz Edge (HD)
  • 1906 Starz In Black (HD)
  • 1910 Starz Comedy (HD)
  • 1912 Starz Kids & Family (HD)

Starz (stylized as Starz! from February 1994 to March 2005,[1] starz from March 2005 to April 2016,[2] and STARZ since April 2016, pronounced "stars") is a premium cable and satellite television network which serves as Starz Inc.'s flagship service. Starz's programming features mainly theatrically released motion pictures and some first-run original television series.

The headquarters of Starz, and its sister networks Encore and MoviePlex, are located at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado.[3] In July 2015, Starz's programming was available to approximately 30.816 million television households (26.5% of cable, satellite and telco customers) in the United States (30.219 million subscribers or 26.0% of all households with pay television service receive at least Starz's primary channel).[4]

History

Starz was launched at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on February 1, 1994, primarily on cable systems operated by Tele-Communications, Inc.; the first two movies aired on the network were dramas released in 1992: respectively, Scent of a Woman[5] and The Crying Game. The network was originally operated as a joint venture between TCI and Liberty Media (both companies were controlled by John Malone), with TCI owning a 50.1% controlling interest in the channel.[6]

Starz! made its debut as the first phase of a seven-channel thematic multiplex that was launched by Encore over the course of the succeeding eight months, with the remaining six channels being launched between July and September 1994.[7][8] The multiplex was intended to only include six channels, however on May 31, 1993, Encore acquired the pay cable rights to telecast recent feature films from Universal Pictures released after that year; as a result, TCI/Liberty decided to create an additional Encore service to serve as a competitor to HBO and Showtime.[7] 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.[9] Early trademark filings indicated that TCI/Liberty originally 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 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, Fine Line Features and its sibling studio New Line Cinema, and the Walt Disney Company-owned studios Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax. 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.[10]

Starz's availability was mainly limited to TCI's systems at launch, debuting with a one-month free preview available to prospective subscribers; it would eventually sign its first major carriage agreement outside of the TCI group, through a deal with Continental Cablevision in September 1995.[11] In June 1997, Comcast signed an agreement to carry the network on its Pennsylvania and New Jersey systems to replace Philadelphia-based PRISM after that network shut down that October following the loss of its (and sister network SportsChannel Philadelphia's) sports programming to Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.[12][13] 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, allowing for providers to add channels that they (even with capacity expansions of up to 60 channels) previously had limited room to carry. 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.[14]

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.[15] 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.[6][16]

Starz logo, used from April 1, 2008 to April 5, 2016.

By May 1998, Starz maintained a subscriber base reaching 7.6 million households with a cable or satellite television subscription.[17] Encore Media Group was later renamed the Starz Encore Media Group in 2000.[18]

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.[19] On March 25, 2005, the Starz Encore Group corporate entity was renamed Starz Entertainment. On November 19, 2009, Liberty Media spun off Starz and Encore into a separate public tracking stock called Liberty Starz.[20]

On January 1, 2010, Chris Albrecht joined Starz, LLC as its president and chief executive officer, overseeing all of the Starz entities including Starz Entertainment, Overture Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Film Roman[21] (Albrecht had served as president of HBO from 2002 until he was fired in 2007 following his arrest on assault charges).[22] On August 8, 2012, Liberty Media announced that it would spin off the Liberty Starz subsidiary into a separate publicly traded company.[23] The spin-off of the subsidiary was completed on January 11, 2013, with Liberty Starz changing its name to Starz Inc. as a result.[24]

On April 5, 2016, Starz was rebranded and added all the Encore channels to its moniker, therefore increasing the Starz channel lineup to 14 Starz movie channels. Its main channel was rebranded "Starz Encore" and carries reruns of Starz originals in addition to films.[25][26]

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 in both standard definition 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 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.

Channel Description and programming

Starz 		The flagship channel; Starz features hit movies and first-run films, from Hollywood blockbusters to independent films and international pictures. The main Starz channel commonly premieres recent theatrically released hit movies – debuting on the channel within a lag of between eight months to one year on average from their initial theatrical release – on most Friday nights at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, as part of a weekly feature film block called the "Starz Friday Premiere" (originally airing on Saturday nights until 2013, and known as "Starz Saturday Opening Night" until 2002 and "Starz Saturday Premiere" from 2002 to 2013). The channel also airs some original series, with newer episodes airing primarily on Saturday nights.

Starz Cinema 		Starz Cinema carries films outside the mainstream cinema, incorporating critically acclaimed studio and independent releases, and arthouse films; Starz Cinema was launched in May 1999.

Starz Comedy 		Starz Comedy focuses on lighthearted films of varying comedic genres including slapstick, romantic comedies and dramedies. It took over the channel space of Starz! Kids on March 25, 2005; the channel's launch was postponed for three years, as Starz originally planned to launch Starz Comedy as a separate multiplex channel in 2002.[27]

Starz Edge 		Starz Edge features films aimed at young adults in the 18 to 34 age demographic. It was launched in 1996 as Starz! 2, and was rebranded as Starz! Theater from 1999 until March 25, 2005; in its previous incarnations, the channel's format incorporated a limited selection of films scheduled in a format mirroring the showtime scheduling used by movie theaters.

Starz In Black 		Starz In Black focuses on black cinema and urban entertainment, carrying a mix of first-run hits, classic and Pan-African films, and original productions. Launched in 1997 as a joint venture with Black Entertainment Television (BET), Starz In Black was originally known as BET Movies: Starz! (3) until 2001, when BET opted out of the venture during its purchase by Viacom (then-owner of rival premium service Showtime). It was then named Black Starz! from 2001 to 2005.

Starz Kids & Family 		Launched on March 25, 2005, out of the consolidation of the once separate services Starz! Family (which was launched in May 1999) and Starz! Kids (which launched over the channel space now occupied by Starz Comedy in 2003), Starz Kids & Family features commercial-free family movies – including action and adventure movies, dramas and comedies, along with some animated and imported live-action children's series. The channel features two program blocks: "Building Blocks", a weekday morning block of animated series (primarily imported from Canada) and "Six Block", a weekday evening block of imported live-action series aimed at a pre-teen audience. Unlike Encore Family (which replaced Encore Wam in August 2011), Starz Kids & Family features some PG-13 rated films within its schedule, in addition to G- and PG-rated films. Due to its family-targeted format, the network does not broadcast any R-rated movies or TV-MA rated programming, only showing programs that are rated G, PG or PG-13 (or the equivalent TV-G, TV-PG or TV-14).

Despite being a premium service, cable providers have occasionally used Starz Kids & Family (and its predecessor, Starz Family) to temporarily replace television stations dropped due to carriage disputes such as during Journal Broadcast Group's 2013 dispute with Time Warner Cable. This dispute resulted in TWC's systems in certain markets substituting other stations (such as the Local AccuWeather Channel- and Live Well Network-affiliated digital subchannels of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's WTMJ-TV) with the channel.[28] A January 2000 dispute between Cox Communications and Fox Television Stations resulted in Starz! Family replacing Fox owned-and-operated stations in six markets.[29]

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 television rights to broadcast films by Universal Studios released after 1993.[7] 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, 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 theaters) with the slate of films changing each Friday.[30] This was followed in 1997 by the debut of a joint venture with BET Networks called BET Movies: Starz! 3.[31] Two additional multiplex channels began operations in May 1999. Starz! Family carried family-oriented theatrical and home video 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 of the mainstream cinema.[32][33] 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.[34] 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.[35] 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 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).[36][37] 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.[38]

The Starz multiplex has been marketed under several names over the years including the "Starz Encore Super Pak" and the "Starz Super Pak".[39] The multiplex now has no "official" marketed name as of 2015.

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.[40]

Other services

Starz HD

Starz HD is a high definition simulcast feed of Starz that broadcasts in the 1080i 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.[41][42] HD feeds of Starz Kids and Family, Starz Comedy and Starz Edge, followed in 2007.[43]

The remaining Starz multiplex channels, Starz Cinema and Starz In Black, launched their HD simulcast feeds on June 23, 2010, with DirecTV becoming the first provider to offer all six channels (including both coastal feeds of the primary Starz channel) in HD.[44] Among others, Starz HD is carried nationally by satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network and regionally by Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cablevision and Charter Communications.

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' Cleveland, Ohio system.[45][46] 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 from 2003 to 2004.[47] 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.[48]

StarzPlay

StarzPlay was a website and mobile app 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,[49] AT&T U-verse,[50] Cox Communications,[51] Xfinity by Comcast[52] and DirecTV[53] 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-style service) was launched on October 8, 2012, with the release of the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch app[54] 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. 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 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 will assume rights to most film releases by Walt Disney Studios from Starz in 2016).[55][56]

StarzPlay (as a Netflix service) was first made available to Starz subscribers of the Verizon FiOS television service.[57] 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.[58] Starz offered its own separate online movie service, Vongo, to its subscribers from 2006[59] 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, Disney and other studios that maintain pay television distribution deals with Starz were not affected and can be acquired from Netflix by this method.[60] 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 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.[61] The app was released on October 9, 2012 for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, and on May 7, 2013 for Android devices.[51][62] An app for the Xbox 360 was released on December 3, 2013,[63] followed by an app for the Xbox One on August 5, 2014 (both are available for no extra charge to Xbox Live Gold members).[64]

StarzPlay is the first Starz-branded service to be localized outside the United States; more precisely within 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, breaching those territories before its biggest competitor in media streaming being Netflix. The service, under the guise Starz Play Arabia, launched on April 2, 2015 for those territories,[65][66] coinciding in the same week as 2015's MEFCC event where the service was heavily promoted.

Starz on Amazon Prime

In the winter of 2015, the Amazon Prime video streaming service 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.[67]

Programming

Movie library

As of August 2013, Starz and sister networks Encore and MoviePlex maintain exclusive first-run film licensing agreements with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (since 1994; including content from subsidiaries Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, DisneyToon Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Disneynature, Hollywood Pictures, and Touchstone Pictures since 1997),[68][69][70] Sony Pictures Entertainment (since January 2005; including content from subsidiaries Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, Destination Films, Triumph Films, and TriStar Pictures),[71][72] Anchor Bay Entertainment, EuropaCorp and Warren Miller Films (since 1997).[73]

The first-run film output agreement with Walt Disney Pictures expires after December 2015, at which time the Netflix streaming service will assume pay television rights in January 2016 (excluding films released by Touchstone Pictures, which will be retained by Starz through a separate contract).[55][74][75] The first-run film output agreement with Sony was renewed for nine years on February 11, 2013;[76][77] the Warren Miller output deal was renewed for ten years on October 19, 2009.[78]

Starz also shows sub-runs (runs of films that have already received broadcast or syndicated television airings) of theatrical films from Warner Bros. Entertainment (including content from subsidiaries New Line Cinema, Turner Entertainment – both for films released prior to 2005 – and Castle Rock Entertainment), Universal Studios (including content from subsidiaries Universal Animation Studios and Focus Features, all for films released prior to 2003), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (including content from subsidiaries United Artists, Orion Pictures, and The Samuel Goldwyn Company), Miramax Films (for films released prior to 2009), 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Revolution Studios,[79] Overture Films,[80] Yari Film Group,[81] and Lions Gate Entertainment (since 2012) [82] and DreamWorks in August 2016.

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.[83][84]

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.[85] 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.[86][87][88]

Former first-run contracts

At the time of its launch, Starz had secured exclusive first-run movie rights with Universal Studios, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax, New Line Cinema, and Carolco Pictures.[5] Between 1995 and 2005, Starz had also broadcast films from Turner Pictures and New Line Cinema.[89] Starz's contract with Universal Studios expired in late 2002, with HBO and Starz sharing half of Universal's films during the 2003 calendar year before the former service assumed pay television rights in 2004.[90][91]

Television series

Original programming

Starz expanded its program offerings to include some original television series by the late 1990s with 5 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.[92] Some of the initial series (such as Kung Faux, The Bronx Bunny Show and Head Case) maintained running times considered unconventional for a live-action series, usually running under 15 minutes in length;[93] half-hour and hour-long series were eventually incorporated on the schedule by 2010 (including shows such as Torchwood: Miracle Day, 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.[94] In 2013, Starz gave a series order to Outlander, a drama based on the series of fantasy/romance/adventure books by Diana Gabaldon. The project, from Battlestar Galactica developer Ron Moore and Sony Pictures Television, received a 16-episode order, with production beginning in Scotland (where the books are set) in October 2013.[95] Outlander has received five nominations for the 2015 Women's Image Network Awards, including a nomination in the Drama Series category. Caitriona Balfe, the leading character in the show, also received a nomination in the Actress Drama Series category.[96]

Acquired programming

Multiplex channel Starz Kids & Family also features some series programming, which are aimed at young children and pre-teens. That channel runs two program blocks: "Building Blocks", a block airing on Monday through Saturday mornings that features animated series (such as Dragon Hunters, Gawayn, Zombie Hotel, Savage Family Wild and Matt's Monsters) and the "Six Block" (originally named "Camp Block"[97] from its launch in March 2011 until the two-hour block was moved from mid-afternoon slots varying on the movie schedule to a set timeslot of 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time in January 2012), a teen-focused block airing weekday evenings before primetime that features mainly imported series from English-speaking countries outside of the United States like Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom (such as Wingin' It, Majority Rules and Sadie J[98]). 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.

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 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,[108] 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;[109] 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 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 wordmark in March 2005 as part of a major rebrand of the network[36] that included a standardized graphics package with modifications for each multiplex channel; the fanfare from the previous graphics package was also reorchestrated. The "InfoBar" also began to be used to promote events on the other Starz networks and to provide entertainment news headlines supplied by Variety (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; 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.

The current logo was introduced in April 2008, with lowercase "starz" typing featuring a asteroid-shaped star inserted between the "a" and "r"; the coloring of the logo was modified to a 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 Kids & Family's HD simulcast feed in July 2011. 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.

Network slogans

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "STARZ! SCHEDULE: MARCH, 2005" (PDF). Starz. March 2005.
  2. ↑ "Starz Schedule: April, 2005" (PDF). Starz. April 2005.
  3. ↑ "Colorado Gov. Bill Owens Helps Starz Encore Group Dedicate New Headquarters In Meridian Office Park South of Denver". Starz MediaRoom. PR Newswire. July 2, 2002.
  4. ↑ "List of how many homes each cable network is in as of July 2015". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it (Tribune Digital Ventures). July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Starz!, New Premium Channel, Launches Tonight with Unprecedented Support from Major Hollywood Studios" (Press release). PR Newswire. February 1, 1994. Retrieved February 24, 2011 – via The Free Library.
  6. 1 2 John M. Higgins (May 19, 1997). "TCI shuffling Starz!: will move it onto Liberty Media to shield MSO from channel's ongoing losses". Broadcasting & Cable. Cahners Business Information. Retrieved March 11, 2013 – via HighBeam Research.
  7. 1 2 3 "Encore Media Corp. signed a deal with Universal film studios that will allow Encore to launch its own movie service as its seventh multiplexed channel". Broadcasting & Cable. Cahners Business Information. May 31, 1993. Retrieved February 23, 2011 – via HighBeam Research.
  8. ↑ "ENCORE CELEBRATES THE EXPANSION OF SIX MULTIPLEX CHANNELS BY HONORING FILM GREATS". PR Newswire. June 29, 1994 – via The Free Library.
  9. ↑ "Encore to spin off channels early". Broadcasting & Cable. Cahners Business Information. December 6, 1993. Retrieved February 24, 2011 – via HighBeam Research.
  10. ↑ Kim Mitchell (January 31, 1994). "TCI details Starz! rollout plans; Tele-Communications Inc. to launch Starz! premium pay service". Multichannel News. Fairchild Publications. Retrieved February 24, 2011 – via HighBeam Research.
  11. ↑ Richard Katz (September 18, 1995). "Starz! signs Continental as first major non-TCI MSO". Multichannel News. Fairchild Publications. Retrieved February 25, 2011 – via HighBeam Research.
  12. ↑ Rose DeWolf (August 25, 1997). "Starz On The Horizon Goodbye Prism & Sports Channel; What's Next Depends On Where You Hang The Clicker". Philadelphia Daily News (Knight Ridder). Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Comcast Commits to Launch STARZ! in Philadelphia; More Than 300,000 Comcast Customers Will See STARZ! by October 1". PR Newswire. July 21, 1997 – via The Free Library.
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