| Starz | |
|---|---|
| Current logo, used since March 31, 2008. | |
| Launched | February 1, 1994 |
| Owned by | Liberty Starz |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Meridian, Colorado |
| Formerly called | Starz! (1994-2005) |
| Sister channel(s) | Encore MoviePlex |
| Website | starz.com |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV | 525 Starz Kids & Family (HD) 526 Starz Comedy (HD) 527 Starz (east) (SD/HD) 528 Starz (west) (SD/HD) 529 Starz Edge (SD/HD) 530 Starz InBlack (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 InBlack 356 Starz Kids & Family (SD/HD) |
| Cable | |
| Various | Varies |
| IPTV | |
| Verizon FIOS | Click here |
| AT&T U-verse | 902 Starz East 903 Starz West 904 Starz Edge 906 Starz InBlack 908 Starz Cinema 910 Starz Comedy 912 Starz Kids & Family |
Starz (originally "Starz!" until 2005 and stylized as starz) is an American premium subscription channel that features mainly first-run motion pictures, along with some original programming. The channel is the flagship service of Liberty Starz, which also owns its sister channel Encore, which was launched three years before Starz's February 1, 1994 debut; despite this, Starz is considered by the company as the flagship of the Starz Entertainment channels.
The headquarters of Starz and its sister channels Encore and MoviePlex are located on the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado.[1] As of December 2011, Starz's programming is available to 19 million subscribers in the United States.[2]
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Starz! was launched on February 1, 1994 at 8 p.m. ET, primarily on TCI cable systems (both it and Liberty Media were controlled by John Malone); the first movie ever aired on the channel was the 1992 drama Scent of a Woman, starring Al Pacino.[3] Starz! originally carried the "Encore 8" moniker, as it was launched as part of the Encore thematic multiplex, the multiplex was to have been only six channels prior to a deal in 1993 in which Encore acquired the pay cable rights to telecast recent feature films released by Universal Pictures after 1993.[4]
While at launch, its cable coverage was mainly limited to TCI systems, Starz's carriage later expanded to more than 90% of all American cable systems in the United States by the beginning years of the first decade of the twenty-first century. The channel focused more on recent hit movies than sister channel Encore, which originally aired movies made primarily in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s before adding recent fare as well in July 1999. Besides rights to Universal Pictures films, Starz also initially had rights to films released by Carolco Pictures, Fine Line Features and its sibling New Line Cinema, and Disney-owned Miramax, Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Pictures (although films from those studios did not begin to be carried on Starz! until 1997, after the studio's output deal with Showtime ended). Films that contained graphic sexual or violent content would also be scheduled in the late evening and overnight hours.[5]
Within two years of the channel's launch, Starz began being separated from the Encore brand (though the "Encore 8" moniker remained in use until 2002) and Starz began launching its own multiplex channels: Starz! 2 (launched 1996, renamed Starz! Theater in 1999 and Starz Edge in 2005), BET Movies: Starz! 3 (launched 1997, renamed Black Starz! in 2001 after BET came under common ownership with Showtime, and renamed Starz inBlack in 2005), Starz! Cinema (launched 1999), Starz! Family (launched in 2000), and Starz! Kids (launched 2004). Starz! Family and Starz! Kids later merged into Starz Kids & Family in 2005, with Starz Comedy taking Starz! Kids's channel space at the same time. A high-definition simulcast feed was launched in 2004. It was not until September 1995, that Starz! signed its first affiliation agreement with a major multiple system operator other than TCI, when it signed a deal with Continental Cablevision.[6] By 1996, Starz! had an estimated total of 2.8 million subscribers, only one million of which subscribers to another cable provider or satellite.[7]
By 1997, Starz! had lost $150 million in revenue and was predicted to lose an additional estimated $300 million in revenue before its cash flow broke even.[8] On June 2, 1997, TCI announced a deal in which it would transfer majority ownership of Starz to sister company Liberty Media, with TCI retaining a minority 20% ownership;[9] the corporate entity behind Starz and Encore was renamed Encore Media Group (which was renamed the Starz Encore Media Group in 2000, and then to Starz Entertainment in 2005), which operated the seven Encore multiplex networks.[10] By May 1998, Starz! increased its subscriber base to 7.6 million homes.[11]
In 2003, Starz Encore Group eliminated 100 jobs at its regional offices and closed four of the nine regional offices it operated, as part of a restructuring plan for the company.[12] On November 19, 2009 Liberty Media spun off Starz and Encore into a new company named Liberty Starz.[13] On January 1, 2010, former HBO President Chris Albrecht joined Starz, LLC as its President and CEO. He will oversee all of the Starz entities, including Starz Entertainment, Overture Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Film Roman.[14]
While sister channel Encore is separate from Starz, cable providers usually offer the Encore services on a separate digital cable tier from Starz and some cable systems do not sell and bundle Encore separately from Starz. Starz and Encore were the first major premium channel competitors since The Movie Channel and Cinemax launched in 1979 and 1980, respectively; as other premium channels that existed before the launch of the Starz and Encore channels including Home Theater Network and Spotlight were unable to compete against HBO and Showtime, and their aforementioned respective sister premium channels. Unlike HBO and Showtime, the Starz channels neither have international premium channels nor have international cable channels that license the Starz or Encore brands.
Starz operates six multiplex channels, a high-definition simulcast of all six channels, and a video-on-demand service. Starz packages the Eastern/Central and Pacific/Mountain feeds of the main Starz service together, allowing viewers a second chance to watch the same movie/program three hours earlier or later depending on their geographic location.
In 1994, Encore launched the industry's first "themed" extension - seven additional channels that each focused on a specific genre. Initially, this was to be six channels, but Encore decided to launch its own competitor to HBO and Showtime, dubbed Starz!, acquiring the rights to first-run Universal Studios films.
Each was given its own number to identify itself as an Encore channel (see Encore article for more information). Starz was the notable exception as it continued to use the "Encore 8" branding in its main idents and movie openers until 2002, even as it was separated entirely from the Encore brand and in the late 1990s, given its own family of channels. The first of which was Starz! 2 in 1996,[16] then in 1997, a multiplex channel that served as a joint venture with BET called BET Movies: Starz! 3 debuted,[17] which later became Black Starz! after BET was opted out of the venture and was acquired by Viacom (then owner of Starz's rival Showtime) in 2001.[18] In May 1999, two additional multiplex channels were added; the first was a family movie channel (possibly launched in response to the earlier launch of HBO's own family service, HBO Family) called Starz! Family, which aired only family movies, and the other service was Starz Cinema, a movie channel featuring thought-provoking independent films and movies outside of mainstream cinema.[19][20] Starz! 2 was also reformatted as Starz! Theater, offering four different movies programmed movie-theater style throughout the week.
In 2004, Starz! Kids was launched, aimed at children ages 2- to 11-years-old, and carried a similar format to that of Starz! Family.[21] Unlike the rest of the Starz multiplex, Starz Kids was launched on individual cable systems instead of nationwide, similar to HBO2 and MoreMax (then Cinemax 2) when they were launched in 1991.
On March 28, 2005, Starz and Encore both underwent major rebrands. While Encore's rebrand involved a slightly modified logo and the addition of the Encore name to all of its channels, Starz's makeover was more dramatic, opting for a completely redesigned logo and cohesive graphics package across all channels.[22][23] Several channels formats were changed completely. Starz Theater, a channel that showed four Starz films at fixed times all week, changed its name and format, respectively, to Starz Edge, a movie channel for young men (also known as "The New Generation"). Starz Kids and Starz Family were merged into one channel (Starz Kids and Family) to make room for a new channel called Starz Comedy. And to fit in with the new look, Black Starz was renamed Starz InBlack. Starz Cinema was the only Starz channel other than the main channel to keep its original name.[24]
The Starz Multiplex has been given several names over the years, including "Starz Super Pak."[25] The multiplex now has no "official" name, and viewers are simply told they are watching "one of the six Starz channels." An unofficial name for the Starz and Encore channels on Dish Network is the 'Starz Moviepack,' while other providers who bundle all of the channels still use the "Starz Super Pak" moniker.
Effective February 1, 2011, in celebration of Dish Network's 15th anniversary, every Dish customer, whether or not they subscribe to the premium channels, will get all seven channels of Starz and the East Coast feed of Encore for free until February 1, 2012.
Starz operates a 1080i high definition simulcast of all six of the Starz channels. When it launched in December 2003, the simulcast originally covered only the main Starz channel (east and west coast feeds); an enhanced definition simulcast feed and a separate 1080i HD channel called Sharper Movies HD, that would be similar to sister channel Encore's MoviePlex, were also planned; but plans for the latter service were later scrapped due to a lack of interest from providers to charge a premium fee for the network.[26][27] HD feeds of Starz Kids and Family, Starz Comedy and Starz Edge, followed in 2007.[28]
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.[29] It is currently carried nationally by satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network and regionally by Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cablevision and Charter Communications, among others.
Netflix features Starz content on their "Watch Instantly" streaming service under the branding StarzPlay, which also features most of the network's original series programming. StarzPlay was created in late 2008, after Netflix made a deal with Starz Entertainment and smaller studios the Starz channel has output deals with, in lieu of buying digital rights, which can be expensive for newer film titles, allowing Netflix to sub-license the channel's film rights for online streaming as Netflix was merely a "content aggregator". However because Netflix chose to sub-license streaming rights through Starz rather than purchasing them outright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group threatened not to renew its output deal with Starz (which expires in 2012) unless it either ends its deal with Netflix or pays Disney a licensing fee to obtain digital streaming rights to its films.[30] The service was first made available to Verizon FiOS subscribers, who subscribe to the Starz service.[31] On September 1, 2011, Starz announced that it would not renew its agreement with Netflix, which ends on February 28, 2012; as a result, all Starz film and original programming content will be removed from Netflix on March 1, 2012.[32]
StarzPlay is the third online streaming service operated by Starz: from 2004 to 2006, Starz operated Starz Ticket, a subscription streaming and download movie service that was a joint venture between Starz and RealNetworks.[33] From 2006[34] until it discontinued the service on September 30, 2008, Starz offered the online movie service, Vongo to its subscribers.
Starz operates a called Starz On Demand, which is available at no additional charge to new and existing Starz subscribers. The service launched on September 19, 2001, initially debuting on Adelphia Cable's Cleveland, Ohio system.[35][36] The service has a unique characteristic of offering 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. Incidentally, the Starz On Demand name was also used for an online broadband streaming movie service operated by Starz and RealNetworks from 2003 to 2004.[37] 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.[38]
As of 2011, Starz, Encore and their respective multiplex movie channels have exclusive first-run premium cable rights to films from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[39] (including Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, and Hollywood Pictures), Sony Pictures Entertainment (including Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures), Overture Films (also owned by Starz' parent, Liberty Media), Anchor Bay Entertainment, Yari Film Group, and Warren Miller Films, among other leading distributors.
Starz also airs older titles from Time Warner subsidiaries Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema and Turner Entertainment, as well as from 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Miramax Films, Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios.
Starz commonly premieres recent theatrically released hit movies on most Saturday nights at 9 p.m. ET as part of a weekly feature film block, called the "Starz Saturday Premiere". Usually films which Starz has pay-cable rights will also run on Encore and MoviePlex during its time of license. From 1995 to 2002, Starz broadcast occasional original made-for-pay cable movies produced by the in-house company Starz! Pictures.[40][41]
While the majority of Starz's programming consists of movies, Starz had begun to offer some original programming by the late 1990s pertaining to the behind-the-camera aspects of movies, as well as some entertainment news programs, some of which also aired on Encore. Since 2005, Starz has begun to expand its original programming, airing an increasing amount of original scripted original series to compete with rivals Showtime and HBO.[42] Some of the initial original series, including The Bronx Bunny Show and Head Case, used unconventional time lengths, running under 15 minutes in length;[43] eventually half-hour and hour-long series were incorporated. Starz has announced it will double its original programming in 2011.[44]
In addition to original programming on the primary Starz channel, Starz Kids & Family also features some series programming, which are aimed at young children and pre-teens. Starz Kids & Family runs a Monday-Saturday morning block called "Building Blocks", featuring both original and acquired animated series (such as Dragon Hunters, Eloise and The New Adventures of Nanoboy); and a weekday afternoon block called "Camp Block" (the title is a parody of the Disney Channel made-for-cable film Camp Rock), consisting of imported series from Canada and Australia, similar to those seen on sister channel Encore Wam prior to 2009, targeted at pre-teens and young teenagers (such as Baxter, Connor Undercover and Mortified).
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.
Just as Encore's is a starburst, Starz's signature logo is a star. In the 1994 launch design, the star was composed of two stars, one large one and one smaller one a silhouette inside the first star. In the 2005 relaunch, this version of the Starz logo was abandoned for a hand-drawn star shooting upwards. In April 2008, the logo was redone with a starburst inserted in-between the "a" and "r" in a lowercase Starz logo. This change was also applied for all of Starz's multiplex logos.
The original on-air graphics were styled like a movie theater. The main network ID featured seats opening (by themselves), various theater imagery, and even images resembling the Caduceus. The word "STARZ!" in the network logo was styled after 1930's-era movie poster typography. Starz! also heavily included its designation of "Encore 8" in their graphics, even after the numbering system was abandoned for "an encore network" (a branding Starz! also used, though sparingly) in 1997. The Feature Presentation bumpers also heavily used the movie theater themes (here spotlights and film canisters) and the "Encore 8" name. This look was ultimately abandoned in May 2002.
In 2002, Starz! introduced the InfoBar, a bar that appears on the bottom of the screen during breaks and at the end of movies. The original purpose was to promote upcoming programming. In the same year, Starz! underwent a major on-air branding revamp, changing from the "theater" look that had been used since the day the network signed on to a look based around natural themes (particularly water). The new look did not carry over to any of the spin-off channels, despite that, Starz! introduced a 7-note fanfare as a musical motif. All of the 2002 branding (excluding the fanfare, which was remixed) was dropped in 2005. In 2005, Starz began branding its feature film content with a semi-transparent version of logo appearing in the lower-right corner of the screen. This practice was discontinued after the April 2008 revamp; instead, a bright white logo (all channels) and a bright orange (Starz Kids & Family HD only) logo, respectively, are in use as of July 2011.
Former Starz president Tom Southwick explained his channel's apparent identity crisis: "Our research found that a large number of our viewers did not know which channel they were watching when they tuned in, particularly if they were channel surfing and came in after the start of the film. We do not use the bug continuously or on all our films. But we need to get attribution for the films we run, and for which we pay hefty fees to the studios. The situation has grown worse as additional premium channels have launched in the past few years and many viewers subscribe to more than one package." Another part of the relaunch is a revamped InfoBar, whose purpose was expanded to tell viewers they were watching "one of the six Starz channels", promote events on the other networks, (example: the InfoBar on Starz promotes "Stand Up or Shut Up" on Starz Comedy) and display entertainment headlines from The Daily Variety's website. Encore has also adapted a similar version of the InfoBar for its networks, and is still in use today. After the channel's April 2008 rebrand, the InfoBar began to once again only serve to promote programming on the main Starz channel, while on its multiplex networks, the InfoBar only serves as a network ID.
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