Verizon signed a long-term affiliation agreement with Starz Entertainment Group enabling it to carry East and West Coast feeds of all 13 Starz Entertainment Group movie channels on Verizon FiOS TV when it launches later this year. The programming includes the flagship Starz and Encore brands, Starz On Demand and Starz HDTV. The deal is the first that Verizon has signed with a premium pay-TV provider. Financial terms were not disclosed. Verizon is also negotiating with other premium services.
Verizon will provide Starz On Demand, showcasing more than 100 movies-on-demand per month, and Starz HDTV at no additional charge for Starz subscribers.
Verizon said its FiOS TV will offer video on demand, hundreds of digital video channels, high-definition programming, music channels, an interactive programming guide and other customer-friendly features. Customers will be able to buy FiOS TV as a stand-alone service or packaged with voice and FiOS high-speed data services, which are already available in some areas.
http://www.verizon.com/http://www.starz.com/
- In February 2005, Verizon announced a long-term agreement with TVN Entertainment for video-on-demand programming and services on its upcoming FiOS TV service. Financial terms were not disclosed. TVN will provide Verizon with a wide range of VOD programming including new studio releases, a library of previous releases, independent movies, family and kids programming, and a broad array of free on-demand and specialty VOD networks. Verizon will also use TVN’s advanced services, including TVN’s exclusive TVNow rapid-turnaround service that enables subscribers to order news and events, such as the presidential inauguration, within hours of their occurrence. TVN Entertainment Corporation is one of the largest privately held digital content aggregation, management, distribution, and service companies in the U.S. The company currently packages and distributes more than 2000 hours of VOD programming every month. This includes TVN-licensed movie titles, children’s and Spanish language content, and genre-themed on demand channels as well as delivering Subscription-Video-On-Demand (SVOD) and network programming for many of the major cable networks.
- In January 2005, Verizon announced plans to use the Microsoft TV platform for the commercial rollout of its FiOS TV service.