Starz adds online movie service for Verizon

By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 5/27/2008

MAY 27 | Verizon has inked a multi-year deal with Starz Entertainment to offer movie downloads to Verizon’s 8.5 million DSL customers nationwide, the two companies announced today.

Dubbed Starz Play, the broadband movie service launched today with the same look and many of the same movie offerings as Vongo, Starz's direct-to-consumer online movie subscription service. The deal marks a shift in Starz online business away from Vongo and toward a wholesale model, which a spokesman said was the company’s plan since Vongo’s launch in 2006. Starz is in talks with other providers to offer Starz Play on a variety of platforms and other services.

The Starz Play service will include unlimited downloads from a library of 1,000 movies and 2,500 other video titles, plus a live stream of the Starz movie channel for a monthly subscription fee of $5.99, half the price of the Vongo service. Vongo will continue to operate as a separate online service,but Starz isn’t planning any major marketing campaigns for the service as it now focuses on Starz Play.

Starz is able to offer films on both online services through exclusive deals the company has with Walt Disney Co. and Sony for the studios’ new releases and some library titles during the subscription window, which generally lags five to six months behind the DVD and pay-per-view window but extends nine to 10 years after a film’s theatrical release. Current new releases available on the service include Spider-Man 3 and Ratatouille.

Starz Play subscribers will be able to watch their movies on up to three devices.