Lionsgate acquires Starz: Why the studio wants the 'Outlander' network

Studio Lionsgate has said it will purchase Starz, which is home to such TV programs as 'Outlander' and 'Power.' 

|
Starz
'Outlander' stars Caitriona Balfe (l.) and Sam Heughan (r.).

Studio Lionsgate is purchasing Starz, the TV network best known for hits like “Outlander" and "Power."

Lionsgate is best known in film for such franchises as the “Hunger Games” series, the “Divergent” movies, and the “Expendables” films. 

Like many other cable networks, Starz began moving forward with original TV series in the last several years, creating such shows as the “Spartacus” TV series.

The TV network debuted the historical drama “Outlander” in 2014, which has gone on to set ratings records for the network. The show “Power,” which centers on a man (Omari Hardwick) who is in charge of a nightclub but also has another identity as a well-known drug dealer, has also experienced good numbers for viewers. 

Meanwhile, Lionsgate is far from a stranger to TV. Hit shows like “Orange Is the New Black” and “Mad Men” have aired on TV networks like Netflix and AMC, respectively, but Lionsgate produced them and helped bring them to the screen.

It is also currently producing such programs as “Greenleaf” on OWN, Hulu’s “Casual,” and ABC’s “Nashville” (which was recently canceled but which will return on CMT). 

Some industry watchers interpret Lionsgate purchasing Starz as the duo's attempt to take on popular cable networks such as HBO and Showtime even more than Starz already has.

“Adding a cable channel could help provide scale at a time when other studios have been swallowed up by bigger entertainment giants, while providing ballast for a sometimes volatile movie business,” New York Times writers Michael J. de la Merced and John Koblin wrote of Lionsgate’s decision. “Within the competitive space of original programming, Starz has moved from an also-ran to a formidable player in just the last few years.” They note that Starz will soon start airing new shows on Sundays, a time when HBO and Showtime often air new episodes of their programs as well.

Meanwhile, Cynthia Littleton of Variety wrote, “Starz will give Lionsgate a strong platform to launch series that can be sold around the world. Starz is at the outset of expanding its reach internationally.”

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Lionsgate acquires Starz: Why the studio wants the 'Outlander' network
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2016/0701/Lionsgate-acquires-Starz-Why-the-studio-wants-the-Outlander-network
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe