Continuing to expand its international reach for its original fare, Starz Worldwide Distribution has reached a multiyear, multiplatform deal with Amedia, a Russian producer of television content, pay TV broadcaster and video-on-demand service operator.
Under the output agreement, Amedia gains exclusive pay television and subscription VOD rights in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and The Baltics to broadcast Starz original series, such as The White Queen, Magic City and pirate drama Black Sails.
Amedia plans to broadcast each episode of the original series the day after their respective U.S. premieres, including Black Sails which will make its Stateside linear debut on Jan. 25. The prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island is Starz’s largest export to date, as it will bow in more than 120 nations.
Under the deal, financial terms of which were not disclosed, Amedia will make Starz programming available to viewers in Russia, Georgia, CIS, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, and The Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Other content included in the first year of the multiyear agreement includes the VH1 series Hit The Floor, telefilms(Paper Heart,Revenge, Stolen Child), and documentaries (Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible).
“We are very excited about expanding our cooperation with Starz. The company is well known in international TV markets with edgy and provocative premium pay TV series. We are happy to deliver such great content to Russian audiences via our pay and SVOD services. An exclusive output deal with Starz - along with previously concluded output deals with HBO, CBS/Showtime and Fox - is a logical step to strengthen Amedia as a Russian home of premium TV content from leading international studios,” said Denis Gorshkov, vice president of programming and acquisitions at Amedia TV.
“Starz Worldwide Distribution is very pleased to expand the distribution of its current and future pipeline of quality Starz original series programming and other licensed TV/movie content with Amedia,” said Gene George, executive vice president of worldwide distribution for Starz. “Starz original series are truly global in their appeal as witnessed by several new output agreements. We eagerly anticipate the first new series from this agreement with Amedia, Black Sails, debuting in Russia and the region beginning on January 26.”
