Amid Big Media M&A, Starz Seeks “Marooned” Linear Brands To Reposition For Digital

Amid Big Media M&A, Starz Seeks “Marooned” Linear Brands To Reposition For Digital

CEO Jeff Hirsch said Starz sees a place for itself in the current M&A landscape by picking off linear networks that aren’t valuable to giant owners but could be repositioned to add value to the newly independent company. He didn’t name names but the company had been, maybe still is, looking at A+E Global Media, parent of A&E, History and Lifetime, as the Disney-Hearst JV explored a potential sale. Hirsch has hinted possible deals before but …

Starz Restructures Canadian Business From Joint Venture With Bell Canada to Content Licensing Deal

Starz is restructuring its operations in Canada from a joint venture with Canadian media giant Bell Media to a content licensing deal with the company. “Today, we are announcing a structural change to our Canadian operation,” Starz president and CEO Jeffrety Hirsch said Thursday during the company’s latest quarterly earnings call. “We are moving from a joint venture model to a stable, consistent content licensing agreement with our partner Bel…