Starz joins the subscription streaming service club
LOS ANGELES -- There's a new streaming service on the block.
On Tuesday, premium TV network Starz joined the fray with the launch of its own platform -- called, surprise, STARZ.
The app will cost users $8.99 a month, making it the most affordable option among the premium TV network services offered by rivals Showtime ($10.99) and HBO ($14.99 for HBO Go). Existing channel subscribers will get free access to the app.
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Customers will be given access to about 2,400 selections each month, including the hit series Outlander, which will be made available beginning April 7 for streaming and download in advance of its official second season premiere on STARZ April 9.
Other offerings include Starz's Power and the upcoming American Gods, as well as movies such as Avengers: Age of Ultron and, later this year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Users can also have a "virtually unlimited" number of downloads, meaning much of the app content will be available offline.
The Starz brand -- which includes 17 premium pay TV channels and associated on-demand and online services -- boasts more than 23.6 million subscribers in the U.S., as of December 2015.
“Starz has entered the market today with an enormous value proposition for consumers," Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said in a statement. "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."
Up to four users will be able to use the app via the same account, available in both the App Store and the Google Play Store, simultaneously.
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Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
