OEN to See Starz in Houston

Optical Entertainment Network will announce Thursday that it has reached several Internet-protocol-TV carriage deals with Starz Entertainment Group LLC.

Under terms of the pacts, all 13 Starz and Encore channels will be available to subscribers as part of OEN’s premium-service offerings, along with Starz HDTV and Starz On Demand.

Through OEN’s partnership with Houston-based Phonoscope, its “Fision” service will bring digital-IP-video, telephony and Internet service to 1.6 million homes passed in Houston over an existing fiber network covering most of the city.

“The wide variety of commercial-free films shown on the 13 Starz and Encore channels -- with everything from Elf on Starz to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on Encore -- will give our subscribers the very best that Hollywood has to offer,” OEN CEO Thomas Wendt said in a prepared statement.

“Better yet, Starz on Demand will give our subscribers to Starz instant on-demand access to more than 100 movies per month at no extra charge,” he added.