Starz Entertainment will pull out all of its movies and television shows from Netflix’s streaming service early next year, depriving Netflix customers from online viewing of new releases from two major Hollywood studios.
Pay-TV operator owned by John Malone’s Liberty Media, said that it has ended talks with Netflix to renew a deal that expires February 28 next year.
After the 28 February Starz will stop providing its content, which includes exclusive rights to first-run Sony and Walt Disney movies, for streaming on Netflix.
Starz Entertainment president and chief executive officer Chris Albrecht said, "Starz will cease to distribute its content on the Netflix streaming platform. This decision is a result of our strategy to protect the premium nature of our brand by preserving the appropriate pricing and packaging of our exclusive and highly valuable content."
"With our current studio rights and growing original programming presence, the network is in an excellent position to evaluate new opportunities and expand its overall business," Albrecht said.
Netflix was offering to pay somewhere in the $200m to $300m per year for rights to stream Starz content, according to reports.
The original online streaming rights are believed to have been agreed for around $30m a year four years ago.
