Starz arrives on iOS, Apple TV as standalone service with $8.99 price tag
No longer will fans of "Ash vs. Evil Dead" be forced to keep a cable subscription or pony up to purchase full seasons, as premium content network Starz has become the latest company to join the on-demand content fray.
The Starz offering also includes sister networks Starz Encore and Movieplex, bringing more content in addition to the network's stable of in-house shows like Outlander. The $8.99 monthly fee slightly undercuts competitors including HBO and Showtime, though it's not clear whether consumers in this market are price conscious or are simply looking for the best content.
"Starz has entered the market today with an enormous value proposition for consumers," company CEO Chris Albrecht said in a release. "Our programing [sic] 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."
Consumers who already pay for Starz through their cable or satellite provider can authenticate that subscription in the app to access its on-demand features without an additional fee.
Like HBO and Showtime, which arrived on the Apple TV late last year, Starz will debut with support for Siri universal search. Fourth-generation Apple TV owners in supported countries will see Starz results alongside those of iTunes and other subscription services.
At press time, the Starz app was still in the process of rolling out but will be available on the iOS and Apple TV App Stores today.
The Starz offering also includes sister networks Starz Encore and Movieplex, bringing more content in addition to the network's stable of in-house shows like Outlander. The $8.99 monthly fee slightly undercuts competitors including HBO and Showtime, though it's not clear whether consumers in this market are price conscious or are simply looking for the best content.
"Starz has entered the market today with an enormous value proposition for consumers," company CEO Chris Albrecht said in a release. "Our programing [sic] 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."
Consumers who already pay for Starz through their cable or satellite provider can authenticate that subscription in the app to access its on-demand features without an additional fee.
Like HBO and Showtime, which arrived on the Apple TV late last year, Starz will debut with support for Siri universal search. Fourth-generation Apple TV owners in supported countries will see Starz results alongside those of iTunes and other subscription services.
At press time, the Starz app was still in the process of rolling out but will be available on the iOS and Apple TV App Stores today.
Comments
I may just go for it now!
Right now, however, Netflix appears to be the only game in town, if you want to be able to watch more obscure movies. Rarely have we found Netflix to not carry the DVD of a movie we wanted to watch.
I've had Netflix since it began, and I've only had Amazon Prime for a few months, mostly because I got a cheap price on the yearly subscription, and also because of the free shipping.
But if it came down to choosing only one, based on which has most/better streaming content, then yeah, Netflix wins out.
Speaking of Netflix, I downloaded an app called smartflix a while back, and that gives somebody access to Netflix worldwide, all on the same interface. There was plenty of content there that was not available on US Netflix.
So much for watching the rest of this season's Black Sails.
Yesterday the Starz Play and Starz Encore apps worked with my cable co login, now it doesn't with the new one. Also these apps no longer load, and nag to update to the new, broken all in one.