Starz is sold independently of traditional and over-the-top multichannel video programming distributors a la carte through Apple TV Channels and Amazon Video Channels, which feature VOD library content and live feeds of Starz's linear television services.
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Starz's programming has been licensed for use by a number of channels and platforms worldwide, and the brand name is licensed by Bell Media for a companion channel of the Canadian-based company's Crave premium service.
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Starz made its debut as the first phase of a seven-channel thematic multiplex that was launched by Starz over the course of the succeeding eight months, with the remaining six channels being launched between July and September 1994.
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Starz focused more on recent feature films, while Starz Encore focused on films released between the 1960s and the 1980s, before adding recent film fare itself in July 1999.
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Starz's availability was mainly limited to TCI's systems at launch, debuting with a one-month free preview available to prospective subscribers; it would eventually sign its first major carriage agreement outside the TCI group, through a deal with Continental Cablevision in September 1995.
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Starz initially responded by issuing further DMCA complaints against those criticizing them, including against a tweet from the Electronic Frontier Foundation stating that "Starz should withdraw its takedown and refrain from harassing journalists".
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Premium film services Encore and MoviePlex, which are owned by Starz, Inc, operate as separate services; as such, subscribers to one of the services do not have to subscribe to any of the others.
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Starz continued to heavily include the "Encore 8" moniker in its main IDs, feature presentation bumpers and select bumpers until 2002, even as it transitioned into a separate channel from Encore.
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Tie to Encore branding-wise continued even as Starz was given its own slate of multiplex channels in the late 1990s.
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Starz HD is a high-definition simulcast feed of Starz that broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format.
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Starz content was made available on Netflix's "Watch Instantly" platform.
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Starz offered its own separate online movie service, Vongo, to its subscribers from 2006 until it discontinued the service on September 30,2008.
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On September 1,2011, Starz announced that it would not renew its streaming agreement with Netflix, which ended on February 28,2012; movie titles that are available on DVD from Sony Pictures, Disney and other studios that maintain pay television distribution deals with Starz were not affected and can be acquired from Netflix by this method.
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The Starz app includes offline playback functionality, allowing users to download and watch content without an internet connection.
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On July 15,2021, Starz reached a licensing deal with Universal Pictures for first-run movies 18 months after they stream on Peacock and Prime Video respectively.
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Films for which Starz has pay-cable rights usually run on Encore and MoviePlex during the duration of its term of licensing.
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In January 1997, Starz secured a licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures, broadcasting over 300 titles.
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At the time of its launch, Starz had secured exclusive first-run film rights with Universal Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax, New Line Cinema, Walt Disney Pictures, and Carolco Pictures.
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Between 1995 and 2005, Starz had broadcast films from Turner Pictures and New Line Cinema.
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Starz expanded its program offerings to include some original television series by the late 1990s with five entertainment news programs and shows that focused on the making of upcoming or current feature films ; some of these programs were aired on Encore.
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In 2005, Starz began expanding its original programming slate in order to compete with rivals Showtime and HBO, with the inclusion of scripted series.
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In 2013, Starz gave a series order to Outlander, a drama based on the Outlander book series by Diana Gabaldon.
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Starz Entertainment has expanded considerably with the presence of its Starz and Encore family of multiplex networks, as well as ventures into television and film production, and home video distribution.
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Starz's logo has incorporated a star in some form since its launch.
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In 2016, Starz redesigned its logo again; the current logo is the word "STARZ" in bold white capital letters against a black background.
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