STARZ Adds 700,000 Streaming Users in Surprisingly Strong Quarter; Is This What Prompted Price Increase?
Lionsgate dropped its earnings report for its most recent quarter (first quarter by most calendars, but it’s Lionsgate’s fiscal fourth quarter). It held some fascinating insights, but none more surprising than the fact that its domestic streaming platform STARZ added 700,000 users.
Internationally, where STARZ operates as Lionsgate+ in most territories, the company added 600,000 more over-the-top (OTT) users, for a total of 1.3 million new streaming customers in the quarter. That’s certainly a nice bounce back for STARZ, which lost 600,000 global users between STARZ, Lionsgate+ and STARZPLAY Arabia.
The new additions mean STARZ and its global streaming siblings now sit at approximately 28.3 million streaming customers around the world. That represents a year-over-year increase of over 13%. New releases during the quarter, such as the third season of “Power Book II: Ghost” helped the service achieve such strong numbers from its streaming segment.
No doubt there were other factors involved in STARZ’s relatively impressive quarter, as well. The service unveiled its first bundled offer in March, when it partnered with MGM+ to offer both services at a monthly price of just $11.99. The bundle is available now to all users with access to Prime Video channels.
The good quarterly results for Lionsgate regarding subscriber numbers on STARZ could be a big reason the company decided to raise the monthly price of the service. Starting on their next billing cycle, STARZ subscribers in the United States will see their monthly bill rise from $8.99 to $9.99. Lionsgate’s timing for the move was shrewd indeed, considering it is about to release the next season of the highly popular series “Outlander.”
The price jump certainly aligns with the company’s stated goal to see its streamers start turning a profit. Other services like Max and Paramount+ have executed or announced $1 price increases to at least one of their streaming plans in the past six months, as each streamer settles on a formula for prioritizing further monetization of existing users.
There was no news in the report regarding Lionsgate’s plans to separate its streaming/cable segment from its movie studio. At last report, the company was on track to spin Lionsgate off for possible sale by September. But perhaps the company will decide to keep its movie studio and sell off its streaming assets, as the new subscriber numbers and boosted revenue per user could attract some buyers to STARZ.
The company will look to build on its streaming successes this quarter, which should be aided by the release of new episodes of “Outlander.” Streaming subscribers are a fickle group, and STARZ’s good times may not last, but for now Lionsgate should feel better about the resilience of its streaming platforms.
STARZ
STARZ offers a subscription video streaming service that gives access to content on the STARZ channel without the need of a cable subscription. With your subscription, you’ll get access to 7,500+ films and episodes, including all of their current originals like “Outlander,” The Serpent Queen,” “BMF,” and “Power.”