Liberty Media is spinning off premium cable network Starz into a separate company, it announced Wednesday.

Starz, which runs the Starz channels as well as Encore, will become a separate listed company with about $1.5 billion in debt.

Liberty CEO Greg Maffei said the deal will provide better transparency, improve Starz's capital structure and increase liquidity at Liberty Media. The increased liquidity will "preserves all our options with respect to SiriusXM and Live Nation," he said.

“I believe this stand-alone structure is the first step to unlocking the real potential growth opportunities for our business,” added Starz CEO Chris Albrecht.