About a year after tapping veteran media executive Chris Albrecht to launch its Legendary Global operation, Legendary Entertainment will consolidate its entire international and domestic TV business under the former Starz CEO.

Albrecht, who joined Legendary Global in December 2019, will become head of Legendary Television. Former Legendary Television president Nick Pepper will step down from that role after three years, transitioning to an executive producer role with various Legendary shows he developed.

According to reports, the consolidation is an effort by Legendary to improve operational performance and efficiency at the TV unit. In addition, Legendary Television also named former CAA executive Danny Grover as head of business affairs. 

Albrecht has a long history in the TV business. He spent nearly two decades at HBO -- five years as chairman and CEO -- when he was abruptly ousted in 2007 after being arrested in Las Vegas for assaulting his then-girlfriend. Albrecht joined Starz in 2010, leaving the company in 2018 amid talk that he had clashed with the premium service’s parent Lionsgate Entertainment. 

At Legendary Global, in which Albrecht was also a part owner, the former Starz chief concentrated on acquiring several foreign language titles and formed a partnership with ESPotlight to create Spanish language content. Legendary Television is known for developing several series for Netflix (Love, Lost in Space and Pacific Rim: The Black);  Hulu (The Looming Tower); Amazon Prime Video (Carnival Row);  and NBCUniversal Debris, set to premiere on March 1). 

Starz has promoted former network COO Jeffrey Hirsch to president and CEO, the network said Thursday.

Hirsch, who joined Starz four years ago and was promoted to COO in 2016, will oversee business and programming strategy for Starz. Hirsch, who has been running the network since the March departure of former CEO Chris Albrecht, has overseen the increase of Starz’s domestic subscriber base to 24.7 million from 23.5 million and has continued growing the Starz OTT service, currently at 4.4 million subscribers, according to the network.

RELATED: Starz President/CEO Albrecht is Leaving

Since Lionsgate’s acquisition of Starz in December 2016, Hirsch -- a former Time Warner Cable executive who joined the company in July 2015 as president of global marketing and product development -- has played a lead role in integrating Starz into the Lionsgate family and exploring opportunities for the two companies’ combined suite of OTT offerings, according to the network.

“Jeff continues to lead Starz’s transformation into one of the world’s premier subscription platforms,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer in a statement. “He has a clear strategic vision, great understanding of where our business is headed and strong relationships that will all contribute to Starz’s continued strong growth and evolution.

On the original programming front, Hirsch has already greenlit three new series, including female produced/written shows Dangerous Liaisons, dark comedy Shining Vale and a Power spinoff series starring Mary J. Blige in a lead role. In addition, Hirsch has greenlit a third season of drama series The Girlfriend Experience.

Starz said it has named former Lionsgate executive Audrey Lee EVP and general counsel, reporting directly to CEO Chris Albrecht.

Lee will be based in the company’s Beverly Hills office and will be responsible for developing the strategic direction of business and legal affairs for the company, including affiliate negotiations, content acquisition and production, litigation and compliance. She will take over for chief legal officer David Weil, who joined Starz in 2014 and will continue in a consulting role.

“Audrey’s broad legal experience in the entertainment industry makes her the ideal choice to lead the Starz legal team as the network evolves and thrives with the growing original programming slate,” Albrecht said in a statement. “David has been instrumental in charting the strategic direction for the Starz businesses over the past several years and we thank him for his invaluable contributions to Starz and its evolution into a global media brand.”

Lee served as EVP and deputy general counsel at Lionsgate (which purchased Starz in 2016), working closely with the studio’s senior management team, supporting them on M&A activities and overseeing legal issues for Lionsgate’s SVOD channels, location-based entertainment, merchandising and gaming businesses. Prior to Lionsgate, Lee was SVP of legal affairs at Sony Pictures Entertainment where she oversaw all legal work relating to home entertainment and television distribution both domestically and in select international markets.

“I’m delighted to join Chis and his leadership team. I look forward to helping chart the course for the business during a time of rapid change for our industry,” Lee said in a statement. 

Premium service Starz said it has extended chief operating officer Jeffrey Hirsch’s employment agreement with the company through December 2020.

Hirsch joined Starz in 2015 from Time Warner Cable and was named COO in 2016. In the past 18 months he helped launch Starz new streaming services and its app – which is nearing the 1-million-subscriber mark – rebranded the Starz network and repositioned the Starz Encore suite of services. In December, Apple named the Starz app one of Apple TV’s 10 Best Apps of the Year.  

"We are pleased to extend Jeff's tenure as COO of Starz, providing the company with great continuity as we continue our drive to be a powerhouse global content provider,” Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said in a statement. “In a short time at Starz, he re-energized growth at the company by rebranding the networks and launching one of the best streaming apps in the TV business, firmly securing the network’s position as the second most-subscribed to premium TV network in the U.S.* We look forward to working with him to drive revenue growth, innovation and global strategic opportunities to create long-term value for our shareholders.”

Hirsch continues to be responsible for overseeing Affiliate Sales, Marketing, Programming Operations, Network Scheduling, Content Acquisitions, Research, Starz Distribution and Technology and Product Development.

He joined Starz after more than 15 years at Time Warner Cable, starting with the former cable company in 1999 and serving in various roles, including stints in product development for TWC’s Ipad app, and as president for residential services in the cable operator’s New York, Los Angeles and Rochester, N.Y. regions. He was named EVP and Chief Marketing Officer in 2011, where he remained until leaving for Starz in 2015. Prior to TWC, Hirsch’s worked at NYNEX Corporation in product bundling and McCann-Erickson in advertising.

Starz is nearing 1 million OTT subs, a milestone achieved roughly six months after the premium programmer introduced a new app that supports a new direct-to-consumer subscription offering as well as TV Everywhere, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht revealed last Thursday (Oct. 27) on the company’s Q3 earnings call.

RELATED: Starz Launches OTT Subscription App

Update: The story originally reported that Starz had surpassed 1 million OTT subscribers, but has been changed to note that the premium programmer is approaching that milestone. 

Albrecht said Starz is also seeing OTT gains from a digital distribution deal with Amazon that was announced in December 2015 through the e-tailing giant’s new Streaming Partners Program

“Our success in this area is buttressing our core Starz Network business, which continues to perform very well,” Albrecht said. “Our digital distribution initiatives are performing well, complementing the way we work with traditional distributors and providing consumers with additional ways to access our highly rated content.”

Later in the call, Albrecht said he was contractually prohibited from saying how much of Starz’s OTT subscription mix was coming way of Amazon or its own efforts with the new app.  

However, Amazon has “been marketing it very well,” Albrecht said, adding that Starz has taken a “less aggressive approach in the marketing” of its own app by comparison.

He also said that there’s a “fair amount” of broadband-only and mobile customers who are adding Starz via the Amazon option.

“The response has been quite good,” Albrecht said, noting that, historically, “new distributors [like Amazon] have always paid a higher rate than the incumbent.”

The Starz CEO also said the programmer’s new multiyear affiliation deal with AT&T-DirecTV will include participation in the new DirecTV Now OTT service.

Elsewhere on the digital front, Starz is also offering originals such as Ash vs Evil Dead, Black Sails and The Girlfriend Experience via Vimeo’s recently launched global television store/EST offering.

Starz, which is in the process of merging with Lionsgate, added 1.2 million subs year-on-year, ending the quarter with 56 million combined Starz and Starz Encore subs.

Starz Networks posted Q3 revenues of $348.6 million, up 6% year-on-year, with operating income of $80.4 million. Consolidated revenues were $407.8 million, with operating income of $74 million.

Albrecht said it is too early to understand the full impact of the proposed AT&T-Time Warner Inc. merger.

“It's at the beginning of the process. It's going to be a long process and it's anyone's guess what happens,” Albrecht said. “We're excited about it from the point of view that we think it highlights the value of content and companies that create their own content and have the platforms to distribute their own content, and Starz is right there.”

RELATED: Lionsgate: No Pressure From Malone on Starz Deal

He also pointed out that Starz, which is merging with Lionsgate, will “still be an independent company capable of partnering and making unique kind of deals to grow our company, to monetize that content.” 

While analysts continue to pick apart Lionsgate’s $4.4 billion purchase of premium channel Starz, studio executives told analysts Thursday night the deal will be “transformative” for the movie studio and that pulling the trigger on the deal was not forced by media legend and Lionsgate and Starz shareholder John Malone.

Lionsgate agreed to purchase Starz on June 30, ending months of speculation around a deal. And though Lionsgate touted the deal as a win-win for both companies, some analysts have seen most of the benefits on the premium network side.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss fiscal first quarter results, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer called the Starz deal “the largest and most transformative acquisition in our history. We've been looking at Lionsgate and Starz' respective operations, pipelines and platforms, exploring all the things we can do together, and I can tell you that we’re even more excited about the deal today than when we first announced it.”

And Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns dismissed speculation that Malone – who swapped a 4.5% stake in Starz for a 3.4% interest in Lionsgate last year – was pressuring the movie studio into a deal with the premium channel.

“John Malone thought these two assets would fit nicely together, he’s been saying that for a long time,” Burns said on the call. “But make no mistake: We wanted the Starz deal.”

Related:Inside the Curious Mind of John Malone

Starz has focused on original programming under CEO Chris Albrecht, and has had success with shows like Outlander, Power, Black Sails and The Girlfriend Experience. Lionsgate has been a force in TV production as well, producing past hits for other networks like Mad Men (AMC), Weeds (Showtime) and Nurse Jackie (Showtime) as well as current hits like Orange is the New Black (Netflix) and Casual (Hulu). Feltheimer said that Lionsgate will work closely with Albrecht (his office will be “five yards away” from the Lionsgate CEO’s), and Starz chief operating officer Jeff Hirsch to develop new ideas for programming. The ultimate goal, he said, is to create a brand defining show along the lines of Mad Men, Starz’s vast content library and thematic channels also are a huge benefit.

Related:Aligning Starz

“I think it's pretty obvious that having that kind of brand defining show would be great,” Feltheimer said. “I think people though do forget it, at Starz there's so much additional content going through – there’s branded channels like the Western channel which is one of the best watched channel on anybody's platform on the Encore side. They have huge libraries, [a] huge amount of movies and just some really great series already on the air as well as a number of others that are coming up and being considered that I've read and that are really terrific and premium. But, of course, again having that big monster hit on any platform is a game changer.”

Read more TCA ’16 summer tour coverage

Beverly Hills, Calif. -- Chris Albrecht, CEO of Starz, drew on his long tenure running cable businesses during a TCA summer press tour executive session that covered topics like Emmy politics, the peak TV era, skinny bundles and the company’s merger with Lionsgate.

The era of 400-plus scripted shows is "wild," Albrecht said. "But I try not to get caught up in what everyone else is doing because that’s not what I’m hired to do. I’m hired to grow the shareholder value of Starz."

RELATED: Chris Albrecht has a plan for positioning Starz for premium success.

Having been one of the main architects of prestige TV during his time at HBO, Albrecht still marvels at the pace of change. "I’ve never experienced anything like it," he said. "I take no credit for it happening. I’m swimming upstream just like everybody else is." Like many other execs at TCA, he poked Netflix, which kicked off the press tour by reminding everyone of its vast war chest. "It’d be nice to have $6 billion to spend," he said.

Read more at B&C.

Ending nearly a day of speculation, Lionsgate said it would purchase premium channel Starz in a cash and stock deal valued at $4.4 billion, creating a “global content powerhouse” in movie and television production and distribution.

The deal has been anticipated for months and reports Wednesday said a deal was close. According to Lionsgate, each share of its common stock will be reclassified into 0.5 voting and 0.5 newly created non-voting shares.  Holders of each share of Starz Series A common stock will receive $18.00 in cash as well as 0.6784 of a share of Lionsgate non-voting stock based on a fixed exchange ratio.  Based on Lionsgate’s 20-trading day volume weighted average price, the offer represents a total value of $32.73 per share to Starz shareholders, an 18% premium. Holders of each share of Starz Series B common stock will receive $7.26 in cash and 0.6321 of a share of Lionsgate voting stock and 0.6321 of a share of Lionsgate non-voting stock.

Although anticipated for months, the combination will give Starz the production heft it has craved as well as a vast content library – the merged entity will have 16,000 movie and TV titles – while Lionsgate gets a distribution arm in the Starz and Encore premium channels. It also paves the way for a broad range of new content partnerships and accelerates the growth of Lionsgate and Starz’s own OTT services.

Lionsgate has been a growing force in television production – it purchased a stake in reality TV powerhouse Pilgrim Studios earlier this year – and has produced network hits like Mad Men, Weeds and Nurse Jackie. The studio currently produces 87 original series on 42 U.S. networks and has a feature film business that has generated over $7 billion at the global box office over the past four years. Starz reaches 24 million U.S. subscribers and its Starz Encore network with over 32 million subscribers and five OTT services.

Starz recently rebranded its services under the Starz Encore name and launched apps and a standalone OTT service that it hopes will draw more subscribers into the products.

Related:Aligning Starz

"The combination of Lionsgate and Starz brings significant scale to our portfolio of content and distribution assets and will enable us to compete successfully in today's rapidly evolving global entertainment marketplace," said Lionsgate chairman Dr. Mark Rachesky in a statement.  "By bringing together complementary resources, premium quality intellectual property and exceptional management, this strategic transaction positions us extremely well to unlock the underlying value of our content to create substantial lasting value for our shareholders."

The deal has been approved by Lionsgate’s and Starz respective boards of directors, but still requires approval from shareholders. The companies anticipate the deal will close by the end of the year.

“This transaction unites two companies with strong brands, complementary assets and leading positions within our industry,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer and vice chairman Michael Burns in a statement.  “We expect the acquisition to be highly accretive, generate significant synergies and create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. [Starz CEO] Chris Albrecht and his team have built a world-class platform and programming leader, and we’re proud to marshal our resources in a deal that accelerates our growth and diversification, generates exciting new strategic content opportunities and creates significant value for our shareholders.”

The company intends to fund the cash portion of the deal with a combination of newly issued bank and bond financing. 

 “Jon, Michael and the rest of the Lionsgate team have built the first major new Hollywood studio in decades, and we’re thrilled to join with them in a transaction that multiplies the strengths of our respective businesses,” Albrecht said in a statement.  “Our similar entrepreneurial cultures and shared vision of the future will make this alliance an incredible fit that creates tremendous value for our shareholders, great content for our audiences and limitless opportunities for our newly-combined company.  I am very appreciative of the work, passion and dedication of both of our companies’ employees and more enthusiastic than ever about the future of our business.”

LionTree Advisors is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Baker Botts LLP is serving as legal advisor to Starz.  LionTree Advisors provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors of Starz. The Raine Group is serving as financial advisor and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is serving as legal advisor to the Special Committee of Starz’s board of directors. The Raine Group also provided a fairness opinion to the Special Committee of Starz’s board of directors.

PJT Partners is serving as lead financial advisor to Lionsgate. Additionally, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse are serving as financial advisors to Lionsgate. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Dentons are serving as legal advisors to Lionsgate. Financing was provided by J.P. Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank.  PJT Partners also provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors of Lionsgate and advised on arranging the transaction financing.

Related:Aligning Starz

Premium programmer Starz said it has renewed an employment deal with CEO Chris Albrecht that’s good through 2020 and will add the role of president to his title and responsibilities.

The four-and-a-half-year renewal becomes effective July 1. According to the 8-K, Albrecht will receive an annual base salary of $1.5 million, an annual target cash bonus for 2016 of 150% of $1.375 million, and an annual target cash bonus of 200% of his annual base salary for 2017 and beyond.

Per the deal employment arrangement, Albrecht also will receive a $3 million grant of restricted shares and a $1 million grant of stock options, each of which will vest on June 30, 2017. He is also entitled to receive an annual $7.25 million grant of equity consisting of 50% stock options, 25% restricted shares and 25% performance-based restricted stock units. The new employment agreement prohibits Albrecht’s termination without cause between July 1, 2016 and January 7, 2017.

Albrecht is re-upping with Starz amid recent strategy and service shifts amid the changing pay TV landscape. In April, Starz rebranded its Encore service as part of a plan aimed at driving more subscribers, and launched a new, unified Starz app that supports authenticated TV Everywhere services as well as a new direct-to-consumer subscription offering.

Starz’s flagship network has roughly 24 million U.S. subscribers while Starz Encore has about 32.4 million. 

“Chris has developed Starz into a leading, innovative entertainment brand with award-winning original programing that resonates with U.S. and international audiences,” Greg Maffei, chairman of Starz, said in a statement. “He has made remarkable contributions to the business over the past six years, and we look forward to his vision creating even more value for distributors, partners and shareholders.”

 “I am excited to move forward with my role at Starz and want to thank Greg and the Board for their continued support,” Albrecht added. “We have a tremendous runway for growth. I am more enthusiastic than ever about our strong and resilient subscription-based business model and commitment to make STARZ an innovative global brand with an eye to the future.”

Among other recent moves, Starz promoted Jeffrey Hirsch to chief operating officer from president of global marketing and product planning. Last week, Starz said Michael Thornton has decided to step down as chief revenue officer, but will stay on as a consultant into the fall.

Starz has named elevated Jeffrey Hirsch, the former Time Warner Cable executive who came on board a year ago, to chief operating officer from president of global marketing and product planning. The premium programmer also promoted David Weil to chief legal officer, expanding his reach to include human resources.

The moves come shortly after Starz, under CEO Chris Albrecht (to whom Hirsch and Weil continue to report), announced the retirement of president Glenn Curtis and that chief revenue officer Michael Thornton was leaving his post but remaining as a consultant until the fall. Distribution duties had come under Thornton and now will come under Hirsch as COO: his oversight includes affiliate sales, marketing programming operations and research, Starz distribution and technology and product development. He already oversaw development of new products and services, including the new Starz all-in-one app (which Comcast continues to refuse to authenticate), the Starz rebrand and repositioning of Starz Encore services. 

H.R. had been part of Curtis's purview and now is part of Weil's as chief legal officer, Starz said. Starz also recently appointed former CAA executive Pamela Wolfe as executive vice president of human resources.

Albrecht said in a release: "We are transforming Starz into a more innovative global entertainment brand. Jeff’s talent and experience will help us accelerate the transformation that began five years ago. We have made great progress in our programming, brands, subscribers and shareholder value, and the organization is focused with an eye to the future.”

Weil had been EVP and general counsel at Starz. 

Starz president Glenn Curtis, a long-time veteran of the company, will retire effective July 1, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

As part of his separation agreement, Curtis, 56, will receive a lump sum payment of $828,750 and monthly payments beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec. 31, 2017 equal to the difference between his monthly base salary and any other compensation he receives from another employer.

According to Starz’ proxy statement, Curtis’ base salary in 2015 was $700,000 and he received total compensation of $2.7 million for the year, an increase of 23% over the $2.2 million he earned in 2014.

Curtis was named president in 2013 and also served as president of Starz LLC and Starz Entertainment since February 2012. He reported directly to Starz CEO Chris Albrecht. Curtis served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at the programmer from 2006 to 2012. Prior to that, Curtis served as a vice president of Liberty Media, Starz’ former parent, and was CFO of the Starz Encore Group from 1995 to 2002.     

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht’s recent schedule in New York City reflects a busy time for his premium network. There were premieres for the new Steven Soderbergh-produced series The Girlfriend Experience and for returning romance hit Outlander and, related to the Scottish kilt drama, the Tartan Day Parade to attend. (Outlander star Sam Heughan was grand marshal .) That’s not counting the phone calls he planned to make to key distributors, letting them know Starz was about to announce a new direct-to-consumer (but not cannibalistic) online service on April 5.

“It has been said to me by the people that run these companies that of the many things that have been done by our fellow premium services, one of the things that pissed off people the most was that they didn’t get a heads up. And we’re not that kind of partner,” Albrecht told Multichannel News editors during a March 30 visit to the magazine’s offices. With him were communications executive vice president Theano Apostolou and global marketing and product planning president Jeffrey Hirsch, the former Time Warner Cable executive who’s also been busy communicating with affiliates about Encore channels rebranding into Starz Encore.

When Albrecht, a former HBO chief, joined Starz in January 2010, it was a movie service experimenting with some original shows, like Party Down. Now it’s tracking to a goal of 85 to 90 new original series episodes per year. Owned by John Malone’s Liberty Media when Albrecht joined, Starz was spun off in 2013 and has been a takeover rumor on a continuous basis. It also has started to produce real hits with passionate viewer bases, including Outlander, pirate drama Black Sails and the top-rated, New York City-based Power, from executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.

Albrecht and company spoke with MCN and B&C editorial director Mark Robichaux, editor Kent Gibbons, programming editor R. Thomas Umstead and senior finance editor Mike Farrell about the state of Starz and the pay TV business. Edited highlights follow.

MCN:Let’s get this out of the way: What can you tell us now about a sales process? Is anything imminent?

Chris Albrecht: I can tell you very directly there’s never been a formal sales process. If there had been a formal sales process, we wouldn’t be here talking about this stuff because someone else would own Starz. You don’t put together a formal sales process and then end up not selling the company to somebody. There have always been lots of strategic discussions.

The interesting thing, if you look at the media business — with all this talk of consolidation and everything and all the sense that putting parts of these companies together, whether it be people looking at what’s going to happen with Sumner [Redstone at Viacom] or the changing of the guard at Fox or now that [Time Warner Inc. CEO Jeff Bewkes] has reduced Time Warner to a digestible piece. So many questions for so many companies, including the free radicals that Malone talks about.

What you realize is that the media business is not a business run by people who are dealmakers. They may be show-makers, they may be schedule-makers, they are terrific executives, but they’re not deal guys. Bewkes has done a great job spinning off stuff , Sumner has split up stuff , Rupert [Murdoch of Fox] does some giant things, [Disney CEO Bob] Iger’s got his four, five, six billion dollar price range that he’s done a wonderful job at. But this is not a business where M&A is …

MCN:Driving everything.

CA: If you’re a Liberty [Media] company, which I had the opportunity and the good fortune to be a part of, you’re working with guys who live for this, right? These are deal guys. All the value they’ve created, everything that’s happened in John’s career has been deals. It’s not like John decided he wanted to be a cable operator. John Malone is, you know, a visionary in this space. So of course there are always conversations going on. And unfortunately everyone has big mouths. People see you walking out of a meeting, and they assume that there is a transaction that’s imminent and then, sort of irresponsibly — no offense to the press, you guys not being one of those transgressors — put out information that is completely unfounded, denied, and then it just becomes almost laughable, if it wasn’t for the fact that it affected so many people’s lives in such a kind of stressful way, the employees of Starz and stuff like that.

But it’s my job, it’s our job, to continue to find ways to build the business. And I firmly believe, John Malone firmly believes, [Liberty CEO] Greg Maffei firmly believes, I think the board of Starz firmly believes that aligning ourselves in some way with other people who can create better opportunities in a combined structure just makes sense. We could be the people that are the leaders. We don’t have to be bought in order to have that happen, and we haven’t been sitting back, waiting for someone to come put us out of our misery. What we have been doing is taking care of our knitting.

MCN:It sounds as if you don’t feel the need to merge or do a deal with anyone right away.

CA: I don’t. I do believe that eventually we will see those kinds of deals being made in the space that Starz lives in. I do believe that Starz is a logical, valuable and potentially powerful addition in a partnership or in a combination structure. We’re unique in our business model. And we’re just getting started on what I think is the new era for Starz. And it’s a direction that people are trying to go in. We’re a small company, relatively speaking. But we still make a lot of money at really high margins. And inside most companies, that ain’t chopped liver. We’re large enough to make a difference, we’re small enough to be nimble on our own and we’re small enough to fi t into a lot of different kinds of structures.

Look, do I think something is going to happen eventually? I think a lot is going to happen eventually. Do I think Starz is going to be a part of that? I think it would be foolish for us to not try and sail in those waters if there is value to be created because our job is to increase value for the shareholders.

From my point of view, Starz is an undervalued asset right now because the opportunity far outweighs the risk. We’re stabilized. We’ve got our product in order. We’ve got a new technology that we think is going to offer us a great opportunity. Now let’s go grow the top line. Now let’s go show people that Starz is an active company with a long and healthy future. And if people want to come in and out of the stock, great. If people are coming in for M&A, maybe there will be a deal tomorrow, maybe there will be a deal three or four years from now. In that period of time, however, we believe in the value of our stock, in the value and strength of our company.

MCN:Isn’t there a fairly high amount of risk now, though, to be a premium channel that’s either number two, number three, in that category in a world where people are paying $9 for Netflix or they’re adding on Amazon Prime, where they have so many different options?

CA: There is always more competition, and I think some of the decisions we’ve made show that we can play in that space. We also have the opportunity of still having a pretty good business with guys that aren’t going away any time soon.

We know we’re not going to be Netflix but we can be somewhere in between a true premium channel and an SVOD service. And if we can grow our business effectively, then we are just a good stock to have in your portfolio. If we can put on really compelling programming that fits in some of the cracks that we see and appeal to audiences that respond to our brands and give them not just the products but the features that they can access that stuff , then I think … Look, any business that continues to grow is a good business.

MCN:Stepping back, then, where is Starz at this moment in its evolution, based on your strategic vision?

CA: This is an important time for Starz. For the last six years or so, we’ve been kind of cleaning up some business decisions that had been made by Starz to go into the movie business; to make a Netflix deal; as a part of Liberty to have tracker stocks, two tracker stocks, one tracker stock; to be reattributed to Liberty; to be spun out by Liberty; the decision to go into original programming; the decision and the announcement for Liberty to spin away from Starz. You know, along with just doing your job of selling subscriptions and working with [multichannel video program distributors] and growing an original programming lineup, that’s been more than a full-time job.

We’ve been looking at an evolving landscape in the media business, and I think all of those things, for us, have pointed to a lot of opportunity for the subscription television business, premium channels, of which we consider there to be basically three — us, Showtime and HBO. The SVOD services aside — Netflix is a true SVOD service; Hulu, kind of a hybrid; and Amazon, a great retailer that has decided to give video away for free until recently they made a deal with us and Showtime and a few others.

In looking at that evolving landscape, we thought that it was important that we preserve the very important historical relationships with the largest video suppliers in the world, which are the MVPDs, and yet take advantage of what seems to be now an inexorable pull towards alternative choices, be it alternative choices in the packaging offered by the traditional distributors or be it alternative choices offered by new entrants who are looking to create an architecture of virtual MVPDs or wholesalers.

And then to look at this opportunity to say, OK, the biggest obstacle to the expansion of premium subscribers over the decades that there have been premium channels has been two things. One is content objectors, who don’t want uncut, uncensored movies in their homes. The other is just price. As basic-tier channels and sports rights and everything just pushed the price of entry up, with the premium being the cherry on top, that became more out of reach of even more people.

And yet, when you look at the content that people want to see and the features that they want to use and the way they want to watch it — commercial free, at their leisure — you think, OK, well the premiums, we’ve got [multiplex channels], we’ve got choices, we’re ad-free, we’ve got the kind of originals they want, we’ve got the technology features, on-demand, authenticated apps. We’re what they want — they just can’t get to us.

And how do we get it to them and how do we not have it cannibalize our current business? How are we more distributor-friendly while we’re trying to do this, and how can we maybe even have the two of them work together and show ourselves as a more forward-thinking, more technologically-based company?

MCN:Is it harder to get the distributor’s attention, to get them to prioritize marketing your service?

Jeffrey Hirsch: I think first and foremost, gaining and keeping subscribers is the biggest priority for them. And I think figuring out how to grow revenue on top of that, obviously, is the second priority, and that’s where we come in. So if we can help in any way — whether it’s putting this app on top of the broadband-onlys to drive more upside there — then we are willing.

CA: We make money for them. We are not in there jamming them with big price increases. We just want to grow our business consistently in their lane.

MCN:Do you see more companies like Netflix or Amazon emerging?

CA: It’s hard to make shows. I know everybody thinks it’s so easy. [Laughter.] Let me tell you something. It’s only television, as I like to say, but on the other hand this isn’t so easy. So you’ve got YouTube out there; you’ve got Google. I mean there are big companies that could decide to do anything, but big companies can trip over themselves. Just because somebody does one thing well doesn’t mean they’re going to be able to do everything well. There is obviously some synergy in how a lot of companies can make money together, to the question you had before: “I did this well, you guys did this well, let’s do both things even better together.”

MCN:Do you think we are hitting a ceiling with regards to the amount of content that’s coming into the marketplace?

CA: I sure hope so. [Laughter.] I think what you’ll see is — I think you’ll see people kind of going to the sidelines. Not everybody is going to be able to do this, particularly ad-supported [networks]. Again, I like the subscription model, I like the premium, non-advertiser supported model.

The big broadcast networks, some of the big channels, right now they’re doing great, they’ve been well-funded for a while. But I think there’s risk. Less eyeballs don’t hurt us. Less subscribers hurt us. Less eyeballs hurt advertiser guys, and if they can’t charge enough money for their commercials, then they’re going to have a hard time getting enough money to make shows.

That to me is a world that I think has got a different trajectory, different challenges than where we are, which is a model that kind of is what everybody else is trying to get into. You know? Not a lot of people are trying to build ad-supported stuff right now. Everybody’s trying to build subscription, non-ad-supported stuff. So, hello, we’ve got that. Now let’s figure out how we can do more of it better.

MCN:You’ve taken a different tack than most networks in that you’re reaching out to different target audiences with your content, be it African American, urban, Hispanic. Will that continue?

CA: Yes. We’re going to expand on that. And it’s even the millennials with [Ash vs. Evil Dead], Blunt Talk, some of the other things that we’re doing. We’ve got American Gods coming up. Targeting a specific audience makes a lot of sense. It helps you focus your marketing, helps you focus your PR, helps you know what you’re doing. Through social media, through all of these opportunities, put something on that appeals to a demographic group, especially if they are avid users of social media, especially if they’re vocal.

And although we may not have the biggest audiences on television, we do absolutely, by major social media platform metrics, have some of the most engaged. That’s good, because they’re going to talk about the show and other people have a chance to find out about it and that’s the best recommendation engine you can find. Other people talking about the programs and then ultimately talking about your brand.

MCN:What about bingeing? Are you going to extend the practice now of launching some series in advance, all the episodes, much like Netflix does or is that something that you …

CA: We’ve got two shows launching the same weekend: Outlander [April 9], which is going to be one episode at a time, and The Girlfriend Experience [April 10], which is dropping them all. Different audiences, different shows.

And just because we drop all the episodes doesn’t mean that people are obligated to watch them. Look, Outlander is a big-tent show. If you want to watch a season of Outlander, for me, however long, I binge it — as a grownup, I don’t really have that much time. But when we got all the rough cuts delivered to us over the summer from [Steven] Soderbergh on Girlfriend Experience. I got them on a Friday night. I woke up Saturday morning, I had a beach house for the summer and I thought, ‘All right, I’ll watch a couple episodes.’ I downloaded them all. I’ll watch a couple episodes, I’ll go and take my bike, go to lunch, come back, I’ll watch a few more, I’ll go to dinner, I’ll watch the rest tomorrow. I started watching them, 13 half-hour episodes. Six and a half hours later, I was starving, but I was like, ‘Holy shit, what was that?’ I could not stop watching it. It was fantastic. And the research showed that young women — maybe even counterintuitively, until you see this amazing performance by [series star] Riley [Keough] — are actually drawn to this show and they’ll enjoy being able to make that choice to watch multiple episodes in a row if they want to.

MCN:We’ve talked about everything that’s coming in on Starz. Disney movies are going away in another year. How do you fill that void? You get oneStar Warsmovie [the 2015 box-office powerhouseStar Wars: The Force Awakens] and you’re out.

CA: I like to say we have the only Star Wars movie. [Laughter.] But I mean, look, if you’re looking at the launch of this thing that we’re talking about, so you’ve got Outlander and Girlfriend Experience into Power and Survivor’s Remorse, into Ash and Blunt Talk and over that the only Star Wars movie. You know, Disney is a great partner. Sure, it would have been great to have them. We love the Sony guys and the future that Rothman has there. We need good movies, we’ve got library deals with everybody. I’m telling you, if you’re looking for a movie to watch, you’ve got a better shot at finding something you want to watch in a library deal than hoping that the studio output deal that you have is getting lucky. And by the time it flows through the theaters, flows through pay per view, flows through home entertainment, flows through whatever, [electronic sell-through], not that many people still are waiting for it in the pay window. But something they haven’t seen for a few years, you go, yeah.

Get more news from #TCA16 here.

Pasadena, Calif. -- Having targeted African-American and female viewers with original content, Starz will reach out to Hispanic viewers with a number of new projects, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said during the network’s Television Critics Association press tour session Friday.

Albrecht said the network will launch several Hispanic-targeted series based on popular Spanish-language stories in an effort to reach second generation, bi-lingual Hispanic viewers who watch premium channels.

Among the new shows are Maleficio, based on the popular Mexian production El Maleficio, said Albrecht. He added he hoped the shows would be a successful in reaching its target audiences as its most watched series Power has reached out to African-American viewers and Outlander brought in female viewers.

“It’s an audience that’s hard to corral because there are a lot of cultural elements there, but I think if we put things out there that are familiar to them through pre-sold properties,” he said. “It’s an audience that is very pre-engaged in premium television, and if we can lean into them we can show them that Starz has them on our minds.”

Albrecht wouldn’t reveal further details on a potential Starz OTT app launch, saying that its still in the process of evaluating its options. Albrecht mentioned the network’s recent deal with Amazon, which provides Amazon Prime subscribers a Starz VOD library, plus a live feed of Encore and six live Starz multiplex feeds for $8.99 a month, as a move toward putting Starz on alternative platforms.

“To have your own app is to have an opportunity to be distributed by our current distribution partners in different ways should they decide to or through other portals,” he said. It’s early days with that stuff, but the new and the old are willing to exist side by side for a while, and its an exciting project right now and when we decide we have it right I think we’ll look at the opportunities and make some decisions on that.”

Albrecht did say the  network will offer Starz Play subscribers an opportunity to binge-view its upcoming drama series The Girlfriend Experience when it launches on the network April 10.

A new deal that allows Amazon to sell add-on subscriptions of Starz to its large base of Prime members presents a new, yet similar, way to attract more customers to the premium video service, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said Tuesday at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference.

“It’s our first opportunity work with a digital distributor,” he said (Starz licensed its content but did not sell separate subscriptions via its long-defunct pact with Netflix).  “We see there being a lot of energy coming into the category of selling video, and I think this [deal with Amazon] highlights the value of premiums.”

Under that deal, also announced Tuesday, Amazon is selling subscriptions to Starz to its Prime members for $8.99 per month, following a free seven-day trial. As part of its program, Amazon  takes on responsibilities spanning subscriber acquisition, billing, customer service and providing the underlying streaming infrastructure. Subs who go that route will get on-demand access through Amazon to the same content that Starz makes available through its TV Everywhere apps (Starz Play, Encore Play and Multiplex Play), a live feed of Encore, and access to six linear channels from the Starz multiplex (Starz's east and west coast feeds, Starz Edge, Starz In Black, Starz Comedy, Starz Cinema, and Starz Kids & Family). Showtime’s deal with Amazon also includes titles from The Movie Channel and Showtime’s east coast live feed.

Albrecht said the Amazon deal is akin to Starz’s traditional MVPD agreements in several ways.

“They're retailers…I think this points out, again, how premium has always pulled through customers to other platform, whether it was cable customers or whether it was satellite customers or whether it was telco customers,” he said. “And now we're seeing maybe one of the world's greatest retailers, who's going to be selling premium on top of what really is their core business.”

Albrecht didn’t go into the financial terms of the deal, but said, as a “rule of thumb,” new distributors don’t get the same deal that old distributors get. But, at the baseline level, Starz has a wholesale deal with Amazon, which in many ways mirrors the kind of relationship the premium programmer has with more traditional MVPDs.

“But I think that this was a good deal for both Amazon and Starz, obviously, or those guys wouldn't have ventured into it,” he said.

Albrecht said Starz is also exploring other types of digital distribution partners and models, including some that gives Starz a more direct link to the consumer without having to manage the marketing and customer service aspects.

“I think there are plenty of interesting companies that are looking at becoming distributors of video and see the premiums as an opportunity for them to compete in a way that lets them be innovative if they have a basic video package like Amazon does,” he said. “So we are considering everything…We're being careful in the decisions that we make because what we want to do is, honestly, have our cake and eat it, too.”

Albrecht said it is hard to predict how large MVPDs will react to the Amazon deal, but said premiums remain an important part of their businesses as it’s important as ever for them to gain and retain video customers.  “It would be shocking to me if they abandon the distribution of premiums,” he said. 

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Premium pay TV network Starz is borrowing an over-the-top programming tactic by offering all episodes of two original series — Da Vinci’s Demons and Flesh and Bone — on its Starz Play TV everywhere app before they premiere on the cable network. The programmer also said it’s considering a standalone online subscription offering, a path recently paved in part by rivals HBO and Showtime. Starz CEO Chris Albrecht discussed those topics, as well as Starz’s desire to reach diverse audiences, with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead at last week’s Television Critics Association summer press tour here.

MCN:What prompted you to provide binge-viewing opportunities for two original series?

Chris Albrecht: We made the fans wait a long time for the third season of Da Vinci’s Demons, so we’ll put it up and let the fans gorge themselves on it. I think when people watch the first episode of Flesh and Bone, they’ll want to immediately see episode two and episode three. We have the TV everywhere platform on Starz Play so we can do it without affecting the linear run, so if you want to watch one a week you can, but if the fans want to watch it a different way it’s one of the nice promises of premium — you can have it any way you want.

MCN:Will it affect the performance of episodes when they premiere on the linear channel?

CA: You hope that all of this stuff is additive. What we and everybody else do now is count multiplatform viewers, so where they watch it and when they watch it is a lot less material than it would be if you were in an ad-supported space, where you’re trying to drive eyeballs to the first commercial. This is the third season of Da Vinci’s Demons, so the fans are waiting for it, and we have what is going to be a well-talked-about show in Flesh and Bone, so these are two interesting ones to try this with. If it works, we’ll do some more. We’re curious to see how this plays out and what we learn from this so we can start thinking about other things that we might do going forward.

MCN:Staying with new technologies, can you talk about Starz’s plans to potentially launch an over-the-top service?

CA: We’re watching what’s going on. We’re hoping for and seeing some interesting innovations within our traditional [pay TV] partners — I wish they would do more and do it faster — but that’s their businesses. We’re interested to see what the results are from what HBO and Showtime are doing. We have the capability of doing the same thing, but it’s early days for us, and we’re looking at everything to try to figure out what’s the best net benefit for Starz’s business, and make those choices based on that.

MCN:You recently mentioned that the network would generate some 75 to 80 of scripted shows in 2015. Has Starz reached its ceiling for original content, or are you looking to add more shows to the portfolio?

CA: I think it’s a bit of wait-and-see. We have a lot of shows in the pipeline. We have three dramas we’ve green-lit — American Gods, One Percent and Counterpart — and we have [the second season of] The Missing and The Girlfriend Experience in the pipeline. We’re not going to throw more stuff because we want to see what goes where.

Obviously, we announced some new programming like Antonio Banderas and the Havana Project. Plus our existing shows are doing well: Power is shooting the lights out with audiences, and we have two great comedies coming up, and Ash vs. Evil Dead will be — no pun intended — a monster, so we are in good shape. More is probably better, but we’ll see as we get these things figured out.

MCN:How do you see the competition shaping up with regard to original programming in the marketplace?

CA: There are a lot of people making a lot of television in the marketplace, and a lot of it seems to be pretty good. The flip side of the fact that there are a lot of shows out there is that there are a lot of training grounds for new writers and new voices. So the biggest obstacle to making a TV show is finding the really talented person who can do it who has a great point of view about something. I think good television shows are the breeding ground for those people.

MCN:Are there any other directives you’re looking to initiate for Starz over the next few months?

CA: I think we’re doing a real good job reaching women and African-Americans, and we’d like to reach out to bilingual, second-generation Hispanic audiences as well. We’re also into reaching millennials and I think they will be drawn to Ash vs. Evil Dead. The LGBT audience is one that we’d like to reach and one that isn’t really being serviced in the premium space all that well. The idea of serving underserved audiences is one that we like and we’ve been getting traction with it, and then good shows bring in other audiences.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Television Critics Association tour is known for its unusual and often memorable moments as network executives and talent face the firing line of questions from often-cranky critics. While the cable portion of the TCA was relatively tame with regards to a war of words between critics and on-stage personnel, a few notable exchanges occured over the four-day period.

• Starz CEO Chris Albrecht during his July 31 session took writers to task for perpetuating a perceived war of words between his network and HBO regarding their respective sports-related series, Survivor’s Remorse and Ballers. The day before, HBO president of programming Michael Lombardo had said he wasn’t familiar with Survivor’s Remorse when a writer asked him about a Starz press release that claimed TV critics were more enamored with the basketball-themed series than HBO’s football-focused comedy Ballers, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

After being asked if he had heard of Ballers, Albrecht quickly shot down any beef between the two networks and chided the writer who initially framed the question to HBO. While admitting that “one of our people was out there pitching shows maybe a little bit too ardently” he warned writers to “behave themselves” when asking questions to the stars of Survivor’s Remorse when then came to the stage later that morning, a request that writers honored.

• During network sessions, series producers, directors and stars often look to the press to help promote their projects. But during Discovery Channel’s session on Racing Extinction, a critic asked the documentary’s showrunners what journalists could do to further get out the show’s message that without a serious focus on conservation, the world faces the potential global extinction of numerous species of animals over the next few decades.

Director Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) wasted no time in urging writers to “join the team” by signing up at racingextinction.com for alerts regarding the film, which will air in December.

“Everybody in this room can reach tens of millions of people. That’s huge. That’s a big advantage,” Psihoyos said. “You can magnify [the message] by getting journalists to write about it, getting it on Discovery. It’s all about scaling up.”

• Most cable and broadcast network series showrunners who address the TCA are excited about their projects and openly thank the networks for supporting them. But some critics were taken aback about the almost giddy enthusiasm several producers and showrunners had about working for over-the-top service Netflix, saying that its liberating to have creative freedom and to not to have to worry about ratings or advertiser and network concerns about content.

Reacting to a question about whether it would be hard to go back to working with a network after her Netflix experience, Grace & Frankie showrunner Marta Kauffman said it would be “difficult” working under the more restrictive parameters of traditional television — parameters that the co-creator of NBC’s 1990s mega-hit Friends is familiar with.

“There is this thing about not having to structure a half an hour in six parts … you can’t tell a story in 21 minutes,” Kauffman said. “So I think going back to that kind of difficult, shortened storytelling would be impossible now that I’ve gotten the opportunity to have almost 10 minutes more and let the story tell us how long it should be.”

— R. Thomas Umstead

TCM: Passionate Film-Noir Fans Won’t Cut Class

Zombie shows draw fans in bunches, but film-noir aficionados have more stamina.

That’s one conclusion The Wire drew after hearing the results from a Turner Classic Movies stunt this summer that invited viewers to take an eight-week online course pegged to the channel’s “Summer of Darkness” programming event.

It was the first online course tie-in TCM had tried, general manager Jennifer Dorian explained, and it was a natural one because it fit with an existing Ball State University free course called “Into the Darkness: Investigating Film Noir.” Enrollees on a weekly basis would watch 45-minute videos and educational lectures, read long articles and take quizzes in order to ace the course, administered by Canvas Network. That’s a fair amount of work to obtain a certificate.

The norm for completing what are called massive online open courses is a rate of around 4% or 5%, Dorian said. The “Summer of Darkness” completion rate stands at 14.4% with results still being tallied.

As for zombies: The biggest- ever MOOC was tied in with The Walking Dead, and drew 65,000 enrollees — but only 3% completed it, according to statistics provided by TCM.

Dorian, over iced teas in New York City last week, said she wasn’t very surprised that a relatively high percentage completed the June and July program. “Our fans go deep; they’re committed to their passion for classic cinema,” she said, adding, “I liked the 20,000 people — that impressed me.” Dorian said the TCM programming formula — uncut, commercial-free movies, primarily from the 1900s to 1979, with some “peppering” of more recent films — still worked and won’t be tinkered with or massively modernized. She does want to do more interactive projects like this online course and create “on-ramps” to draw in younger viewers and more casual movie fans.

The “Summer of Darkness” stunt also struck a social-media chord as TCM sent fans a daily dose of two-minute film noir clips and sought their responses on Twitter (#noirsummer). The clips drew TCM’s highest-ever activity Twitter rate, Dorian said, even surpassing the awards-season staple “31 Days of Oscar.”
— Kent Gibbons

Premium cable network Starz has promoted senior vice president of originals marketing Alison Hoffman to executive VP of marketing.

In her new role, Hoffman will continue to lead marketing strategy and planning for original productions -- including show positioning, creative and media strategy and digital marketing -- and will also spearhead all consumer and affiliate marketing for the network.

Prior to joining Starz in 2012, Hoffman was vice president of creative and brand strategy at AMC Networks, where she launched several award-winning marketing campaigns for flagship AMC series Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. She also helped reposition the network as it transformed from a movie channel to a general entertainment network.

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht announced the promotion, saying, “Alison has been instrumental in the success of the company’s original programming expansion and building the Starz brand."

Pasadena, Calif. -- Starz has no interest in offering its premium content directly to consumers but would consider streaming its product through third-party distributors, according to Starz CEO Chris Albrecht.

Albrecht, answering questions during Starz’ Television Critics Association Winter press tour, said that the network has no interest in offering its content through a stand-alone streaming service, but would consider partnering with other distributors offering a package of content over the web.

“We’re interested in talking to those people and there might be discussions,” Albrecht said. “We want to make sure we’re packaged and priced correctly.”

In other announcements, the network said it will embark on its first original movie, The Dresser.

The movie, based on Ronald Harwood’s classic play of the same name, follows the exploits of a dresser for British actor/manager Sir Donald Wolfit during World War II. The Dresser stars Anthony Hopkins (Noah, Thor, Silence of the Lambs) and Ian McKellen (The Hobbit franchise, X-Men franchise, Lord of the Rings franchise).

Starz reported higher earnings in the second quarter, despite a sharp revenue retreat.

Net income rose 5% to $69 million, or 62 cents a share, from $66 million, or 52 cents a share a year ago.

Revenue fell 21% to $410.1 million from $517 million a year ago, because of a big drop in home video sales

"Our business performed well in the second quarter as we executed on our long-term strategy to build the Starz brand and create compelling original programming," Starz CEO, Chris Albrecht said in a statement. "We are pleased with the Starz original programming schedule, which is gaining meaningful traction with audiences and our distributors.”

The company said it had 22 million subscribers for its Starz network, up from 21.8 million a year ago, while subscribers to Encore slipped to 33.9 million from 35.1 million.

Beverly Hills -- Starz’s new original series Outlander could have a long run on the premium service given the numerous books in the series if viewers back the show, according to Starz CEO Chris Albrecht during the network's Television Critics Association summer tour presentation Friday.

While Albrecht stopped short of announcing a second season of the series, Albrecht said that he likes the show and storyline -- based on the eight-book Outlander series penned by Diana Gabaldon -- and could see the show airing on the network for several seasons. The fantasy-themed series debuts on Starz Aug. 9, but the network will debut the first episode on several TV and online platforms a week earlier including website Starz.com/Outlander and Starz's YouTube page.

 “If the audiences are as interested as we think, I don’t see why we couldn’t continue the journey,” Albrecht said.

While the network has been criticized for greenlighting new seasons of shows such as Black Sails early, Albrecht believes that shows need time to grow, and it’s not a problem to greenlight additional seasons if the series shows promise.

“If we like a show maybe we should pick up the next two seasons,” he said. “I’m beginning to think in the world of increased competition, I should worry less about what other people think.”

Albrecht also praised the performance of new shows like its drama series Power and The White Queen, which has helped the network bring in more African-Americans and women respectively. He added that Power, which follows the exploits of a rich night club owner who doubles as a powerful drug dealer, draws the largest concentration of African-American viewers on premium cable networks since HBO’s The Wire.

Albrecht also weighed in on the proposed Comcast/Time Warner and DirecTV/ATT mergers by saying the deals can be a win-win for everyone as long as the companies continue to serve its subscribers well and treat its partners fairly. “It will be critically important that people do not use their muscle to take advantage of their long term partners,” Albrecht said.

He also downplayed the value of putting premium TV shows on OTT services such as Netflix and Hulu, adding that it takes away from the exclusivity value of the network. "It would make life potentially easier for [show] buzz, but there’s something pretty buzzworthy about only finding it here," Albrecht said.

Outlander fans can get out in front of the new series on Starz.

Continuing its varied gambits to generate buzz, sampling and ultiimately viewing, the premium channel will give fans of the show, which is being adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books and executive-produced by Ronald Moore (Battlestar Galactica), a chance to watch the show’s first episode on various platforms, a week before it makes its linear debut.

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht, in advance of the programmer’s July 11 presentation at the Television Critics Association at the Beverly Hilton, said that free sampling of the pilot will begin on August 2 via myriad affiliate on-demand vehicles and online outlets. Outlander is slated to open on Starz on Saturday, August 9 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

Albrecht also noted that the Starz plans to show the first eight episodes of Outlander’s initial campaign on consecutive Saturday nights in that time slot through Sept. 27, with its second half scheduled to resume early in 2015.

All told, some 82 million multichannel video households will have access to the premiere episode via additional linear, on-demand and/or online sampling opportunities on select cable, satellite and telco affiliates in the United States, as well as online through select websites. including Starz.com/Outlander, the Starz “Outlander” Twitter page, Starz's YouTube page, the Starz 'Outlander' Facebook page, and the free Starz Play app.

Distributors offering the first installment on their free-on-demand platforms include Comcast, DirecTV, Dish, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS, Charter, Bright House, Mediacom, CenturyLink and various members of the National Cable Television Cooperative.

Starz has supported the launch of key original series like Black Sailsand Power, as well as the sophomore run of DaVinci's Demons, with various on-demand, digital and experential marketing initiatives. 

"We've heard from fans the world over who are anxiously awaiting to see how we’ve brought Claire and Jamie to life in what may possibly be the most highly anticipated series in Starz history,” said Albrecht. "Our Outlander sampling strategy serves the dual purpose of giving early access to the series premiere for those fans thirsting to watch it as soon as possible, as well as providing a vehicle that introduces the Starz experience to prospective new subscribers who are eager to learn all about this great new series."

The series, adapted from Gabaldon’s international best-selling books by Moore (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation), follows the story of Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), a married combat nurse from 1945, who is mysteriously transported to 1743. In this unknown world, her life is threatened. But when she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate relationship is ignited and she is torn between two vastly different men and irreconcilable lives.

Outlander is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Story Mining & Supply Company and Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Television.

Looking to tap into the book series’ fervid fan base, Starz recently launched the OutlanderCommunity.com microsite, a social destination that aggregates the latest related content across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, fan blogs and more. The platform promotes exclusive show content and deepens the consumer’s connection with the show and fan community.

The site, which Starz said drew more than 138,000  page views with users spending an average of 4 minutes on, features new and ongoing activities for users to share via social media including the “I Love #Outlander Because…” activity and an "apothecary cabinet" that allows users to explore the plants and herbs used during the 1700s when modern medicine wasn’t available. Users will find 14 different plants that were used to treat everything from warts and corns to heart attacks and infection. 

Starz is also giving fans a chance to learn how to “Speak Outlander” with the "Gaelic expert" feature on the Starz YouTube page, featuring cast members from the set in Scotland. Twelve words and/or phrases are featured in these lessons, including “Sassenach,” “Sàinte Mhath!” “Je Suis Prest” and “Craigh na Dun.”