 | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Nasdaq: STRZA (until 2016) Nasdaq: STRZB (until 2016) | |
| Industry | Pay television |
| Founded | 1991; 34 years ago (1991)(as Encore Movie Group) |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people |
|
| Revenue | $1.631 billion[1] |
| $445 million[2] | |
| Parent | Liberty Media (1991–2009) Lionsgate (2016–2024) Starz Entertainment (2024-present) |
| Divisions | Starz Networks |
| Website | Official website |
Starz Inc. is an Americanentertainment company and a subsidiary ofStarz Entertainment.[3] Founded in 1991 as Encore Movie Group, it is headquartered inMeridian, Colorado,[4] but uses nearbyEnglewood as its location in corporate filings and press releases.
The companyowns and operatespay televisionchannels, includingits namesake service, sibling networksStarz Encore andMoviePlex.[5]
Encore Movie Group was founded in 1991 as awholly owned television programming subsidiary and a joint venture ofLiberty Media andTele-Communications Inc., two companies that were controlled byJohn C. Malone. The premium channelEncore was launched in 1991 on cable systems operated by Tele-Communications Inc., followed by the launch ofStarz in 1994, and Encore Plex (nowMoviePlex) in 1997. In 1994, Encore Movie Group was renamed Encore Media Corporation.
On June 2, 1997, TCI announced it would transfer part of its ownership stake in Encore Media Corporation to sister company Liberty Media, due in part to substantial losses incurred by the Starz network. TCI retained a minority 20% ownership interest in Encore Media Corporation, renamed Encore Media Group in 1998, until Liberty Media acquired TCI's stake following its 1999 merger withAT&T Corporation and assumed full ownership of the Encore Media Group.
In 1999, Encore Media Group was renamed theStarz Encore Media Group; "Media" was dropped off in 2001, becomingStarz Encore Group. The company also launched a film and documentary production division, Starz Encore Entertainment.
As part of a corporate restructuring in 2003, Starz Encore Group eliminated 100 jobs in its nine regional offices, four of which have been closed.[6] On March 25, 2005, Starz Encore Group was renamedStarz Entertainment Group (also known asStarz Entertainment, LLC), and on March 28, the Starz! network was renamed Starz (dropping the exclamation point) and adopted a new logo featuring a hand-drawn star and a wordmark set in Helvetica Neue Black.
On August 31, 2006, Liberty Media acquired the US division ofIDT Entertainment for $186 million,[7] followed by the Canadian and Australian divisions on September 29, 2006.[8] IDT Entertainment was then merged under Starz Entertainment Group and renamedStarz Media. The company soon expanded into film production by launchingOverture Films in 2006,[9] followed by arthouse label Anchor Bay Films in 2008.[10]
On November 19, 2009, Liberty Media spun off Starz Entertainment Group into a separate tracking stock, known asLiberty Starz.[11] On January 1, 2010,Chris Albrecht became the president andCEO of Liberty Starz, overseeing the company's entities including Starz Entertainment,Overture Films,Anchor Bay Entertainment andFilm Roman.[12]
On January 4, 2011,The Weinstein Company (TWC) acquired 25% ofStarz Media, one of the operating units of Liberty Starz.[13] The arrangement included a five-year distribution deal under which starting in April 2011, Liberty Starz'sAnchor Bay Entertainment would release new TWC films on DVD and Starz Digital Media would handle online downloads and streaming.[14]
On August 8, 2012, Liberty Media announced that it would spin-off Liberty Starz into a separate public company; the transaction includes about $1.5 billion of debt. The spin-off of the subsidiary was expected to be completed by the end of 2012,[15] but was actually completed on January 11, 2013. As a result of the spin-off, Liberty Starz changed its name toStarz Inc., began trading onNASDAQ under the ticker symbols STRZA and STRZB, and replaced Liberty Media in theNASDAQ-100 index.[16] Starz Inc.'s businesses and assets at the time consisted ofStarz Networks,Starz Distribution, and its minority stake inArc Productions.
Starz was later replaced in the NASDAQ-100 index byKraft Foods on March 18, 2013.[17]
On February 11, 2015,John C. Malone, the majority shareholder in both Starz and its former parent company Liberty Media, swapped a 4.5% stake with 14.5% of the voting power in Starz Inc. for 3.4% of shares in film and television entertainment companyLionsgate while joining the company's board of directors.[18][19] Fourteen days later, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht hinted a possible merger with Lionsgate.[20]
On November 10, 2015, Malone's two other companies,Liberty Global andDiscovery Communications, made a joint investment of $195–400 million in Lionsgate and acquired a 3.4% stake in the company.[21][22][23][24][25]
On June 30, 2016, Lionsgate agreed to acquire Starz Inc. for $4.4 billion in cash and stock.[26][27] As part of the acquisition by Lionsgate, Starz Inc.'s home entertainment business have been subsumed into Lionsgate's Worldwide Home Entertainment division, as well as Starz Inc.'s Worldwide TV distribution group being similarly combined.[28] On December 8, 2016, the deal was finalized thus making Starz a subsidiary of Lionsgate.[3]
In August 2023, Lionsgate announced it would be exiting Latin America before spinning off Starz into its own company.[29]
In November 2023, Lionsgate announced the spinoff of its film and television assets into its own separate publicly traded company. The new company,Lionsgate Studios, would be founded on May 14, 2024. As a result, Lionsgate announced that Starz would be laying off 10% of its work force, and exiting the television markets in both the UK and Australia by the end of 2023.[30]
In 2024, Lionsgate would change its name toStarz Entertainment to distinguish itself from Lionsgate Studios.[31]
TheStarz Networks division currently consists of 3 premium cable networks and their variousmultiplex channels; 17 channels collectively.[32]
