In an effort dubbed Operation Turbo, Starz Entertainment CEO Chris Albrecht and his associates have been meeting with potential partners throughout the world to raise $1 billion of off-balance-sheet financing for original programming, sources said.
Starz parent Liberty Media gave Albrecht the task of raising the money needed to greatly increase original programming on the Starz pay services, as competitors HBO and Showtime have done.
As part of Operation Turbo, there have been meetings with Studio Canal in France and the BBC in London, among others, but the economic climate is making everyone careful.
