Paid-cable network Starz today announced a new standalone monthly streaming service that will be available to users as an app on iOS, Apple TV, and Google Play stores. Starz's entry into the standalone service market follows fellow networks HBO ($14.99/month) and Showtime ($10.99/month), but will come in at a cheaper price of $8.99/month.
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The new Starz app can be authenticated as a companion to users who have traditional cable packages, but won't offer live streaming, unlike Showtime's service. The network did say that one unique feature will be that users can download full episodes of any show to watch offline. The Apple TV version of the Starz app will support the universal search function of the new Siri Remote, as well.
Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said, “Starz has entered the market today with an enormous value proposition for consumers. Our programing will now be more widely available to the 20 million broadband only homes of cord nevers, cord cutters and cord shavers, including Millennials and other underserved consumers who need other viable subscription service options.
To celebrate its launch, the network will make the first episode of the second season of Outlander available on April 7 (two days before its official premiere) to any of the app's users. Starz said that the service will give subscribers access to more than 2,400 selections every month, including original programming like Outlander and the anticipated premiere of American Gods, as well as feature-length films like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The Starz app is available to download today on the fourth-generation Apple TV and iOS App Store [Direct Link] for free.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Damned if you do, damned if you don't. From a personal perspective, there's no advantage in a la carte. Four individuals with disparate tastes... my bill would be murderous trying to accommodate all those viewing habits. YMMV
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Does Starz have an app for those who get it through their cable package?
Yep. Pretty much all premium channels have their own app. Most likely your cable company does as well.Cable companies might be raking it in today, but they're doomed over the long haul.
THIS...and they will raise the internet rates and start Data Capping.
And this is why you need to start NOW getting up from in front of your Apple TV one night a month and attending your local city council meetings to tell them to get rid of franchising exclusivity for internet and TV providers. The only thing that is going to stop the cable providers from continuing to screw the consumers over is if there is competition.The Cable Providers may start to feel the brunt but they knew what would happen and they will remain in their fancy homes, cars, and shoes.
And you can't wait until cable TV loses more and more subscribers, and the carriers start upping internet rates and capping data to mobilize. As you said, the cable providers know this is going to happen, so they're putting their ducks in a row right now. Only through grass roots efforts and making your opinion known are you going to kick those ducks over. Competition is king, and that is what the cable providers are going to fight against at every turn.
If you're old enough to remember think about the state of cable television before DISH Network and DirecTV started putting pressure on them. Very low channel selection, bad technology, ever increasing prices (I mean worse than we have now). But when the satellite providers put the pressure on them things changed fairly quickly for the cable providers.
I can even remember what things were like before DISH came along. DirecTV was nearly as bad as the cable companies. Their equipment was ridiculously expensive, and their programming was limited and expensive, too.
There are decisions you can make every day that will have an effect on the services that impact your daily life. For instance, I love baseball. I would gladly pay $130 a year for the MLB package, because it's a good value to me. Except for one thing: Local market games. I don't feel like I should have to subscribe to a $100 a month cable or satellite package to see my local baseball team play in a stadium that my tax dollars bought. So, until I can watch local market games I will not subscribe to MLB TV. It may make no difference to them in the end, but I am not going to use my own pocketbook to go against my interests. And if everyone would make conscious decisions like this the media companies would have to rethink their business models, and actually give the customers what they want.
BOY, if showing up and making a statement did anything in government, local-state-federal, then that would be SO AWESOME!!
It's not easy making local government accountable. But it's possible. Hell, it can be a healthier, cheaper and more rewarding activity than watching TV or surfing Facebook.MD is a very gerrymandered state...on all levels. My county government is DEEP into the pockets of developers and big businesses. We have watched and heard them listen to public opinion only to vote the same way they intended anyway. the police system here puts in who they want. Thankfully the ONLY kicker was Verizon Fios coming into the county...where Comcast and another smaller cable company previously 'owned'. it wasn't until FIOS came that suddenly Comcast gave what they advertised for years but never "had in my area". FIOS and COMBATS/Xfinity have the same [basic] quality and price here. so it is just a matter of price-warring between them on contract.
My parents finally got cable (technically FIOS) just last month and got the FIOS build-your-own TV package and it sucks. they were told they'd be getting "x" channels and don't.
I really think Internet providers should give unlimited data but based on speed. You want 10Mbps fine, you can split it between internet, streaming, TV, Phone how you wish. You want faster speeds or more speed to split between devices, upgrade to faster internet. Basically all the Triple Play packages use the same input, it just gets split once in the house to different devices.
I agree with your point about unlimited data vs. speed. When I buy a data package from a provider they sell me a size of pipe for a specified period of time. To come back later and put data caps on it is unfair IMO, and should be illegal. I've maintained that for years.
How is Netflix overpriced?
It isn't. At least not in the US. And anyone that claims otherwise is out of their minds.