Hollywood Reporter: Lionsgate and Starz Broke Up. Are They Better Off?

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

Are Lionsgate and Starz worth more apart than together?

Hollywood Reporter: Starz Sheds 520,000 Subscribers As Revenue Declines Post-Lionsgate Split

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

Newly-solo Starz released its second quarter financials on Thursday, with revenue down and a swing to an operating loss.

Deadline: Netflix Readies Q2 Report As Wall Street Anticipates Strong Kickoff To Earnings Season

Story from Deadline:

Netflix is due to report second-quarter results after the close of trading Thursday, with Wall Street eagerly anticipating a strong kickoff to media earnings season from the giant streamer.

Lionsgate Studios for sale - Deadline: Legendary Kicking Lionsgate’s Tires

Story from Deadline:

Legendary Entertainment may be looking to acquire Lionsgate Studios, which has just spun off on its own ticker on Wall Street.

Deadline: Lionsgate & DirecTV Launch Lionsgate Collection Premium Channel

Story from Deadline:

Lionsgate and DirecTV are firing up Lionsgate Collection, a premium channel for the latter’s subscribers which will draw upon the studio’s 20,000-plus title film and TV library.

Deadline: Starz U.S. Subscriber Levels Rise In Q4; Former Lionsgate Unit Takes $177.4M Charge For Content “Reassessment”

Story from Deadline:

Starz reversed recent U.S. subscriber losses in its fiscal fourth quarter, but disclosed a restructuring charge of $177.4 million due to a “reassessment” of its content portfolio.

Deadline: Stand-Alone Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch Sees A Future Of Owned Shows, Lower Costs & Deals With Networks “Marooned” In Linear Limbo

Story from Deadline:

Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch, in his first solo outing as head of a newly stand-alone publicly traded company, sketched out an era of lower costs, ownership of shows, more bundling and deals with networks that are stuck in the linear space.

Variety: Lionsgate, After Starz Split, Sees Quarterly Revenue Jump 22% to $1.1 Billion and Movie Segment Profit Hitting Highest Level in 10 Years

Story from Variety:

Lionsgate‘s revenue for the first three months of 2025 rose 22% and its movie division profitability soared to its highest level in a decade helped by the box office performance of “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” and “Flight Risk” in the period.

Deadline: Starz Shares Jump 40% On First Day Of Trading, Disney Up 11% On Strong Quarterly Earnings

Story from Deadline:

Wednesday’s performances by Starz and Disney shares represented a bright spot in an otherwise murky 2025 for media stocks.

Hollywood Reporter: Can Starz Scale? Now Split From Lionsgate, CEO Sets Sights on Major Subscriber Growth

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

It’s been about 18 months since Lionsgate began taking steps to separate its film and TV studio business from Starz — a process Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch likens to renovating a house.

Advanced Television: Starz completes separation from Lionsgate

Story from Advanced Television:

Starz has completed its separation from Lionsgate and, effective immediately, returns to being a standalone public company with trading commencing on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol STRZ.

C21Media: Lionsgate, Starz begin trading as standalone companies after Supreme Court ruling

Story from C21Media:

Lionsgate and Starz are set to begin trading as standalone companies today after the Supreme Court of British Columbia approved their full separation.

Deadline: Lionsgate Clears Last Hurdle For Split Of Studios And Starz

Story from Deadline:

The Supreme Court of British Columbia, where Lionsgate is officially headquartered, has approved full separation of the company’s studio business from Starz, the final step required to complete the split that’s been in the works for years.

Hollywood Reporter: Lionsgate Promotes Taylor du Pont to Lead TV Post Production

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

Lionsgate has promoted Taylor du Pont to head of television post production as Bobby Williams retires after 23 years at the studio.

Hollywood Reporter: Lionsgate Names Digital Media Vet Brad Haugen to Drive Original Content Expansion

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

Lionsgate has named digital media veteran Brad Haugen to spearhead original online creation as executive vp, digital strategy & growth.

Paramount Global/Skydance merger - Hollywood Reporter: How Hollywood Stocks Fared During the First Quarter of 2025 Amid Trump, Recession Fears

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

It’s been a mixed opening to 2025 for Hollywood stocks, but many outperformed a sharper decline in the broader stock market.

Advanced Television: Free Starz offer on YouTube TV

Story from Advanced Television:

Starz and YouTube have partnered to offer 30 days of access to Starz’s library of programming included with a subscription to YouTube TV and through YouTube Primetime Channels.

Deadline: Max-Starz Bundle Launches On Prime Video

Story from Deadline:

Max and Starz are joining forces in a new streaming bundle launching on Prime Video in the U.S.

Deadline; Media Spin Cycle: M&A Outlook For 2025

Story from Deadline:

The media industry closes out 2024 in a landscape very different than a year ago and perhaps looking up as the biggest players begin to manage the confounding decline of linear television.

Hollywood Reporter: Hollywood’s Top Dealmakers of 2024

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

Some moguls may look at everything before Nov. 5 as a prelude to the frenzy of dealmaking to come if the new Trump administration turns out to be as amenable to M&A as it is widely expected to be.