Starz Extends First Quarter Loss on Lower Revenues – The Hollywood Reporter

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No longer disclosing subscriber counts, the now-solo Starz marked a year from separating from Lionsgate as it looks to grow its streaming TV platform.
By Etan Vlessing
Canada Bureau Chief
Starz Entertainment ended its first year as a standalone company after splitting from Lionsgate with lower overall revenues and a widened net loss as it looks to positive year-over-year streaming growth in 2026.
The premium cable and streaming platform, which no longer discloses its subscriber counts, ended the three months to March 31, 2026 with $307 million in overall revenues, compared to $330.6 million in the same period of 2025.
Streaming revenue came to $211.1 million for the latest quarter, down from $223.4 million in OTT revenue in the year-ago period. Starz in its results forecast positive year-over-year streaming revenue growth in fiscal 2026. And linear TV revenue at $95.8 million was down on from $102.8 million in the first quarter of 2025.
Starz also saw its operating loss at $152.8 million widen from a year-earlier operating loss of $142.3 million due in part to higher interest expenses, while the overall net loss at Starz grew to $165 million, against a year-earlier $153 million.
The adjusted OIBDA at Starz Networks came to $92 million, compared to $58 million in the first quarter of 2025. The latest financial results for Starz marks one year from becoming a standalone company after the premium cable and streaming platform separated from Lionsgate. Starz completed its split from Lionsgate’s film and TV studio in May 2025.
“As we mark the one-year anniversary of our separation today, I’m proud to report that Starz is a structurally stronger company than when we separated. Over the past year, we have executed with discipline against our strategic and financial priorities to position the company for long-term value creation, and we delivered a strong start to the year, meeting or exceeding all of our key financial targets,” Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch said in a statement that accompanied his latest financial results.
On an after market analyst call, Hirsch said Starz was exiting a pay two licensing output deal with Universal Filmed Entertainment Group originally struck in 2021 and set to run through to 2028. He said the Universal films are popular on Starz platforms after the pay-one window, but there is big overlap between subscriber viewership on Amazon and Starz.
“These titles are heavily watched before they come to us in the pay two window. This unique dynamic with Amazon has resulted in lower viewership than we originally projected,” Hirsch said. Starz said it will acquire new film content from rival sources to replace the revenue lost from over-exposed titles as the company leaves its multi-year licensing deal with Universal.
Starz has also looked to grow its streaming subscriber base with new scripted series like Outlander, Power Book III: Raising Kanan and the upcoming July 2026 premiere of Starz-owned Fightland, and all amid continued pressure on its linear TV customer base. The company is looking to build out its own content library and take ownership of more originals to increase its overall profitability.
“Obviously, the hope is to get most of the slate owned and controlled by Starz long term. And that’s something we’re laser focused on without any distractions,” Hirsch told analysts.
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