Amazon is launching a new promotional program that lets its Prime members preview the first seasons of shows on participating Amazon Channels SVOD services at no extra charge.

The selection of shows will refresh each month. The first set of shows in the program include Showtime’s Kidding, which stars Jim Carrey is a kids TV icon. The show re-teams Carrey with Michael Gondry, director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Also featured is Starz historical drama Black Sails. 

From now until March 31, here’s what’s streamable for Prime members:.

Amazon Channels is service that lets Amazon Prime members sign up for subscription streaming services through Amazon. The online retail giant collects a percentage of the subscription revenue and handles the customer relationship. 

For most of the SVOD services participating in the program’s first month, Amazon Channels supplies the bulk of their subscriber base. 

Starz is gearing up a big rebranding of its Encore service that it hopes will drive more subscribers to the premium channel.

The April 5 rebranding of Encore’s services to “Starz Encore” channels will include running past episodes of Starz original series on Starz Encore outlets, timed before new seasons of the shows return to Starz.

Currently Starz has about 23.6 million subscribers, while the lower-priced Encore services have about 32.2 million. Starz would like to narrow that gap.

In January, Starz tested the upsell potential with Cablevision Systems and other operators by airing seasons one and two of pirate series Black Sails on Encore ahead of the third-season launch on Starz. The results, executives said, were encouraging: Of 700,000 Encore (non-Starz) households that sampled Black Sails, more than 2% later added Starz to their subscriptions and went on to watch new episodes on Starz.

“As you look at this business, it’s very competitive, there are a lot of choices, and brands become more and more important,” Starz president of global marketing and product planning Jeff Hirsch said. “We have a great Starz brand that is continuing to grow. Encore has 9 million more Encore customers than Starz customers based on how some of our distributors sell us. How do we strengthen both products by putting them together? The idea is to launch a master brand where we create a windowing strategy across both Starz and Starz Encore. What we hope is, it will strengthen them and simplify them.”

Large distributors like Comcast and Time Warner Cable have sold the services separately in the past, Hirsch and other executives said.

“What we hope [the rebranding] will do and what we think it will do is strengthen the product for our distributors,” Hirsch said. “By simplifying the portfolio under a master brand, by co-mingling on-demand together and windowing back and forth, we believe this will give a better upsell and revenue opportunity for our distributors’ partners that sell the product separately.”

There are six Starz channels (five are themed, such as Starz in Black) and eight Encore networks (including themed versions such as Encore Westerns).

Starz is backing the eff ort with a marketing campaign using the tagline “Starz: Obsessable,” highlighting original series and hit movies.

Alison Hoffman, Starz executive vice president of marketing, said a study by Hollywood marketing firm Troika found that 85% of adults consider themselves fans of something, and 70% of that group identify themselves as fans of a TV series.

“That was the nugget,” Hoffman said, saying Starz originals like Outlander and Ash vs Evil Dead have passionate fan bases, not unlike fans of the Avengers and Star Wars movies.

Starz has the rights to Marvel’s Avengers movie franchise — it is currently airing Avengers: Age of Ultron — and will have the premium rights to Star Wars: The Force Awakens later this year.

Hoffman said the “Starz: Obsessable” campaign, and a subsequent social-media effort, should further drive new subscribers to the channel.

Ray Stevenson, who plays Blackbeard in the upcoming third season of Starz pirate drama Black Sails, is Volstagg in the “Thor” movies; was Stephen Hopkins in National Geographic Channel’s Mayflower miniseries Saints & Strangers; and turned the republic upside down as legionnaire Titus Pullo in HBO’s Rome.

That resume raised the question of whether he really loves playing historical/mythical characters.

In a phone chat from his home in sunny Ibiza, Stevenson turned the question around a bit. In a production like Black Sails or Saints & Strangers, where there’s “incredible attention to detail,” he said, then “there’s this richness in everything” that’s very appealing.

Also, he noted, Pullo was part of “the most advanced technological nation on Earth,” and Blackbeard commanded full-rigged naval ships that were marvels of their age, brilliantly executed in the “extremely realistic” Starz production.

“I do love the fact when it’s done well that you can just mine everyone from the props department, the armorers, the set designers, the costume designers,” he said. “I chew it up.”

Blackbeard is a newcomer to Black Sails but not to Nassau, The Bahamas, where the circa early-1700s series is fictionally based (it’s filmed in South Africa).

Edward Teach has returned, after eight years away, to try to reunite with former protégé Capt. Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) and go on to lead a pirate fleet together.

His initial approach, at least, is relatively quiet.

“You’ve got a character who is by nature larger than life and outside of the norm, but you don’t want it to put a crack into the established mise en scene of the series,” Stevenson explained. “You want it to be part of it and enhance it and challenge it, and create much more interesting situations.”

No doubt Stephenson will stir things up in that powerful cast, led by Toby Stephens as Capt. Flint, when Black Sails returns Saturday, Jan. 23, at 9 p.m. on Starz.

Starz is giving viewers an early look at the new seasons of Survivor’s Remorse and Blunt Talk

The network said Monday (Aug. 17) it has made the first two episodes of its freshman series Blunt Talk, as well as all six episodes from the first season of its sophmore comedy series Survivor's Remorse, available via Starz.com, Starz On Demand and Starz Play app before its Aug. 22 premiere.

The first episodes of both shows are also being streamed via Facebook. Survivor’s Remorse executive producer LeBron James posted the show’s sophomore season premiere episode on his Facebook page this past Friday, while Blunt Talk star Patrick Stewart dropped the first episode of his series for his Facebook followers to watch over the weekend.

The moves follows Starz’s announcement late last month that it would offer all episodes of the final season of Da Vinci's Demons nd the freshman season of Flesh and Bone online prior to their Starz debuts this fall.

“Starz has sampled many new original series on multiple platforms – including Facebook – over the past few years and we continue to witness first-hand the importance of engaging fans in the social media community who have migrated the ‘water cooler talk’ to a much bigger and virtual break room, ” said Starz CEO Chris Albrecht in a statement. “The network and our shows, including ‘Power’ and “Outlander,’ are definitely benefitting from the tremendous online community engagement.”

Starz will make all episodes of the final season of Da Vinci’s Demons and of freshman series Flesh and Bone available online before each show debuts on the channel, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said Friday at the Television Critics Association tour.

The final 10-episodes of Da Vinci’s Demons will debut on Starz Play and Starz On Demand prior to returning to Starz on Oct. 24, while eight episodes of Flesh And Bone will be offered for binge viewing before its Nov. 8 network debut.

“It’s fun to try to do different things with [original] programming because we can,” Albrecht said. “Starz has had a fantastic year with original programming in 2015 and we are rewarding our Starz subscribers with two special opportunities to immerse themselves into quality series and enjoy them on their own schedules."

He added said the premium network would consider implementing the binge-viewing strategy with other shows, although he would not say which if any shows are being considered.

Starz also said it ordered up a fourth season of pirate drama Black Sails and  greenlit a new drama series, Havana Quartet, starring Antonio Banderas.

Overall, Albrecht said that Starz will offer 75 to 80 episodes of original series content in 2015.

Starz's original series Black Sails has docked on A+E Networks in the UK and Africa.

Under the deal, A+E Networks UK has acquired the exclusive linear TV rights for the pirate drama for History in the UK and that continent. The acquisition marks the first deal for A+E Networks UK, a joint venture between A+E Networks and Sky, with Starz Worldwide Distribution. Deal terms were not disclosed.

A prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's novel,Black Sails concludes its second season on Starz March 28.

This latest acquisition follows the success of the Vikings on History in the UK, where the first season stands as the channel’s highest-ever rating series, drawing in a total audience reach of 2.1 million viewers, according to officials.

“Black Sails is a thrilling drama with a treasure trove of colourful characters that really brings to life a remarkable and provocative period of history. Following the huge success of Vikings, we are really pleased to bring viewers another premium drama to History,” said Rachel Job, director of programming for History at A+E Networks UK.

Gene George, executive vice president for Starz Worldwide Distribution, noted: "Starz Worldwide Distribution is delighted to establish a new relationship with A+E Networks UK through Black Sails. History will be an excellent broadcaster partner for us in the UK and Africa with this amazing series.”

Starz’s pirate drama provided the premium network with some impressive Nielsen bounty in its return.

The second-season premiere of Black Sails, the prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island, notched a 25% jump on live+3 basis compared to its series' opener.

The sophomore-season bow captured 860,000 viewers on Jan. 24 at 9 p.m. according to Nielsen live+same-day data, edging past the 846,000 who watched the series opener on Jan. 25, 2014.

Total weekend viewership tallied 2.24 million watchers, down nearly 8% from the 2.43 million watchers for the series’ bow in 2014, but up 27% from the 1.77 million watchers for the first-season concluder.  Moreover, Starz officials noted that the second-season’s opening weekend surpassed the first season’s weekend average of 2.05 million watchers by 9.2%.

Starz executives noted that the episode had wind in its viewing sales as partial multiplatform data had the  second season return floating toward 4 million viewers. That tally, they said, did not include contributions from additional multiplex runs, Starz on Demand, Starz Play and other digital airings, nor the full live+7 effect.

The second installment of the 10-episode, second campaign embarks on Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. Starz has already ordered a third season of Black Sails.

In a quest to build greater awareness and drive higher viewership for the second season of Black Sails, Starz, with the aid of Twitter, shared some pirate bounty in Santa Monica and Manhattan.

The “Take What’s Yours Treasure Hunt” dug out on Jan. 10 with players following @BlkSails_Starz for clues to Tower 16 near Santa Monica Pier and Trinity Bar and Restaurant in the Big Apple, with the first player arriving 45 and 50 minutes, respectively, after the initial clue was disseminated.

Ultimately, 25 players found keys to the treasure chest at least location, with a winner at each location unlocking $5,000 apiece.

The hunt resulted in a 400% rise over Starz’s typical Saturday Twitter performance, with #TakeWhatYours generating 5.8 million impressions, according to Alison Hoffman, senior vice president of originals marketing at Starz.

"Most of the marketing is reflective of Black Sails' authentic character-driven world. But promos like the treasure chest -- and the Captain Morgan's activation last year -- were a chance for us to have some fun with the genre,” said Hoffman. Starz engaged in a dueling canons gambit with Captain Morgan as a promo for the show's  first season.

Hoffman said the Twitter treasure hunt – before Black Sails makes its second-season bow on the premium network  at 9 p.m. -- continues with “Flock to Unlock." Fans will have to tweet to @BlksSails_Starz#TakeWhatsYours on the morning of Jan. 20 to view the first scene of the new 10-episode campaign, which will introduce a new character. 

To support the second season of its biggest show – Black Sails averaged 5.3 million watchers for eight-episode run in the States and it's available in 130 nations -- Starz is also setting sail with a sampling initiative in which non-subscribers can check/revisit the first three episodes of the series’ rookie run on Starz Play.

Starz on Demand, and the free-on-demand platforms from Charter, DirecTV, Dish and Time Warner Cable will make the first four installments of the inaugural season accessible through Jan. 25.

The premium channel, looking to build and fortify the show's male audience, has also engaged in a lengthy consumer promotional campaign that began in November, with schedules in late-night, and sports fare, including NBA and college football action. There are also print, outdoor, digital and cinema executions, including a trailer and long-form content airing before movies.

"Black Sails is very cinematic in its look. We think the movie campaign is a good match," said Hoffman.

The outdoor campaign features buses and billboards in New York and Los Angeles, including a 3D image on Sunset Boulevard, where the pirate and death climb the mast to reach the flag that extends skyward.

She noted the campaign was atypical for most series’ sophomore runs, relative to its length and strength of schedule.

“The spending is at the same level as the first season,” she said. “We really believe in Black Sails.”

Starz has greenlit its top original series, Black Sails, for a third season.

The pick-up, announced on Oct. 11 at New York Comic Con, comes on the boots of Starz' announcement that the second season of the prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island will commence on Jan. 24 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

It also trails the premium network's renewal of Survivor's Remorse, the basketball comedy executive-produced by LeBron James and Tom Carsey.

Black Sails notched a Starz viewership record for the opening weekend of an original series last January. More importantly, its maiden-season voyage averaged 5.3 million viewers per episode across platforms and encores. The show is distributed in about 130 countries and territories worldwide.  

The series is created by Jonathan Steinberg (Jericho, Human Target) and Robert Levine (Touch) and executive-produced by Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, producers on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Purge.

“The incredible world that Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine have created continues to unfold in season two.  Flint’s journey is riveting, and around him, Jon and Robert have woven an intricate web of conflict, betrayal, and redemption for the other characters that we believe will keep fans of the show coming back for more,” said Carmi Zlotnik, managing director of Starz. “We think that season three will bring even more of the drama and lore that has made it a hit both in the U.S. and internationally.”

Season two begins where the tale left off—The Walrus crew is stranded, with an army of Spanish soldiers standing between them and the precious Urca gold. And with their crimes against their brethren no longer a secret, Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and Long John Silver (Luke Arnold) must join forces in a desperate bid for survival.

Meanwhile, Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New) struggles to maintain her grip on Nassau, as a new breed of pirate arrives in the form of Ned Low (Tadgh Murphy), a man for whom violence isn’t just a tool … it’s a pastime. As blood is spilled, and tensions mount, Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) must decide which he values more: Eleanor’s life, or the respect of his men.

Black Sails will cast off for its second season in January.

Starz will launch the 10-episode sophomore campaign of the pirate drama on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 9 p.m.

The premium channel scored big with the Treasure Island prequel. Black Sails' first campaign set a viewership record for a debuting Starz original skein, during its opening weekend last January.  It also averaged 5.3 million viewers per episode across encores and devices.

Set 20 years before Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, the show tracks the most feared pirate of the day, Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his men.

Starz, which today released a first look teaser image, inspired by the Emmy-nominated main title design, also has built a sizable international following for the show.  Black Sails is televised in some 130 countries and territories worldwide.

Season two begins where the tale left off—The Walrus crew is stranded, with an army of Spanish soldiers standing between them and the precious Urca gold. And with their crimes against their brethren no longer a secret, Flint and Long John Silver (Luke Arnold) must join forces in a desperate bid for survival.

Meanwhile, Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New) struggles to maintain her grip on Nassau, as a new breed of pirate arrives in the form of Ned Low (Tadgh Murphy), a man for whom violence isn’t just a tool … it’s a pastime. As blood is spilled, and tensions mount, Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) must decide which he values more: Eleanor’s life, or the respect of his men.

And unbeknownst to all of them, a prize of immeasurable value has already been smuggled onto the island … one whose discovery will alter the very landscape of their world, and force everyone in Nassau toward the ultimate judgment: are they men, or are they monsters?

Starz is giving its latest original series a preseason of sorts.

The premium network will tip off a multiplatform nationwide sampling of the first two episodes of Survivor’s Remorse, the comedy executive-produced by basketball legend LeBron James, beginning Sept. 27. The exposure comes a full week before the series makes it national, linear debut on Starz on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m.

In the latest expansive sampling effort behind its original shows, Starz will make Survivor’s Remorse, the story of baller Cam Calloway (Jessie Usher) and his family who are suddenly thrust into the limelight after he signs a multimillion dollar contract with a professional team in Atlanta, available to multichannel video households through on-demand, online and linear runs on select cable, satellite and telco affiliates in the United States (see list below).

Additionally, the first two installments are accessible online through select websites including Starz.com, and the show’s Twitter, YouTube and Facebook pages. They will also be available via Starz on Demand and the free Starz Play app for all users in the United States, and through Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, Sony Entertainment Network and Xbox Video.

All told, Starz's sampling assist for Survivor's Remorse will reach some 78 million U.S. households.

Starz has supported the launch of current hit, Outlanderand key original series like Black Sailsand Power, as well as the sophomore run of Da Vinci's Demonsand reality series The Chair with various on-demand, digital and experential marketing initiatives

Mike O’Malley, consulting producer and Emmy-nominated actor for his role on Glee, serves as executive producer and showrunner for Survivor’s Remorse. In addition to James, Tom Werner, chairman of the Boston Red Sox and whose production credits include The Cosby Show, Roseanne and That '70s Show; Maverick Carter, sports marketing executive and James's business partner; Paul Wachter, founder and CEO of Main Street Advisors; and Victor Levin (Mad Men, Mad About You); are also serving as executive producers.

Starz retains all domestic and international multiplatform rights including television, home entertainment, and digital.

The following is a list of some of the providers offering on demand and/or linear sampling:

• Comcast (FOD)
• DirecTV (FOD)
• Dish(FOD + Linear)
• Time Warner Cable  (FOD)
• Cox Communications (FOD)
• Verizon FiOS (FOD)
• Bright House Networks (FOD)
• Mediacom (FOD)
• Other select NCTC members

A month after its chairman and chief operating officer repeatedly told analysts and the media that it had no acquisitions targets on its radar in the wake of its abandoned bid for Time Warner Inc., 21st Century Fox executives, apparently not getting that particular memo, have reportedly held preliminary talks with premium cable channel Starz about a possible deal.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, several unnamed Fox executives held a meeting Tuesday on its studio lot in Los Angeles with Starz CEO Chris Albrecht and investment bankers. A source familiar with the situation told Multichannel News that the talks were held Tuesday as a courtesy and that there is no interest on Fox’s part to do a deal.

That seems to jibe with statements made recently by Fox chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch and chief operating officer Chase Carey, who had repeatedly told analysts and the media that it is not pursuing acquisitions.

“Let me be clear, we are done,” Carey said shortly after the company dropped its pursuit of Time Warner, adding that it would not seek out alternative acquisitions, pledging instead to focus on organic growth.

Fox had made an unsolicited $80 billion for Time Warner back in June, which Time Warner summarily rejected. In August, Fox formally withdrew its offer.

Recently Murdoch told Fox Business Network anchor Neil Cavuto that he decided to drop the Time Warner pursuit in part because he didn’t want to take on a massive amount of debt.

A Starz deal wouldn’t require a huge borrowing – while reports said a deal could be worth as much as $3.2 billion, some analysts value the premium service as high as $4.7 billion. Fox, which recently sold its interest in its European satellite ventures Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland to its other satellite holding -- British Sky Broadcasting – netting about $7.2 billion in cash after taxes, could finance a Starz deal internally.

But there are roadblocks to a combination, particularly Fox’s commitment to sell its movie studio output to Time Warner’s Home Box Office until 2022.   

The reports seem to suggest that Starz, which spun off from Liberty Media in 2013, is putting itself in play, which has pretty much been the case since its separation from Liberty. Back in 2012 Liberty chairman John Malone said that Starz would benefit from a post-spin off “big brother.”

While Starz has beefed up its original programming slate of late and is headed by former HBO chief Chris Albrecht  and has scored recent critical and ratings success with series like Outlander, Black Sails andPower.