Starz and Altice have finally settled their carriage dispute with a new multiyear deal.
The premium-TV channel — home to “Outlander” and “Power” (pictured above) — went dark for Altice customers on New Year’s Eve. Now, Starz and Starz Encore are back on for Optimum and Suddenlink cable systems.
This deal also allows for Altice USA to sell the Starz App to their Altice One customers. The agreement grows Starz’s subscriber number, which executives there are happy about.
“Starz is very pleased that both companies found a mutually beneficial way to expand our relationship over the next several years to offer the best content possible to millions of Altice USA subscribers,” said Jeffrey Hirsch, chief operating officer of Starz. “In addition to the thousands of blockbuster and library movies Starz offers, we believe Altice USA values our company’s programming commitment to create and deliver premium quality original series that serve traditionally underserved audiences. By working together, both companies are in a stronger position to provide the best content and products to our shared customers.”
“Our goal is to give customers the flexibility, choice and entertainment they want at a great value, and we appreciate their patience while we worked to reach a deal that was in their best interest,” said Hakim Boubazine, co-president and chief operating officer of Altice USA. “Through this new expanded arrangement, we are pleased to provide Starz’ wide array of programming on traditional and digital platforms, and look forward to working with Starz to continue to serve the diverse needs of our customer base across the U.S.”
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
8 Questions We Need Answered in 'American Gods' Season 2 (Photos)
The first season of "American Gods" was full of strange moments as gods both ancient and modern revealed themselves as living among mortals. But after eight episodes, there are plenty of dangling threads we're still waiting to see completed. Here are eight questions we want "American Gods" to answer when it comes back in Season 2.
Starz
8. What is Bilquis’ role in the war? The New Gods have successfully recruited love goddess Bilquis, and in the Season 1 finale, Technical Boy seems to send her to take on Wednesday and (probably more likely) Shadow. Do they intend for Bilquis to try to seduce either the Old God or his bodyguard to take them out of the war? It seems pretty likely that if anybody is in Bilquis’ sights, it’s Shadow.
Starz
7. What’s Mr. Wednesday’s goal? He’s readying for a war with the New Gods, but what does that even really mean? Mr. Wednesday seems to suggest that war is coming, war is already here, and that war is inevitable, but after a while you’d think maybe some of the other gods might ask, “What’s in it for you?” If we think back to the very first “coming to America” story of the series, in which Vikings fought each other just to appease their god, the answer may well be that Odin wants war for war’s sake.
Starz
6. What happens when Salim finds the Jinn? They had a passionate night together and the Jinn managed to improve Salim’s life significantly by giving him a fresh start. But what happens when the mortal finally catches up with the demigod? Seeing as things don’t always go so well for the mortals (or for several gods) on “American Gods,” one has to wonder if this is going to be a happy ending.
Starz
5. Is Mad Sweeney falling for Laura? Sweeney wants his lucky coin back, but it’s powering Laura’s undeadness. In the finale, we saw an important, character-building moment in which Sweeney willingly gave the coin back to Laura so she could pursue trying to get herself permanently resurrected. But what did that mean for the two of them in the future? Shadow has said he’s over Laura, but she’s apparently not going anywhere -- and in fact, she's more drawn to Shadow than ever thanks to supernatural forces outside of her control.
Starz
4. What’s it going to take to save Laura? After a tough finale episode and a tangle with the pavement, Laura lost that lucky coin that brings her to life. But Mad Sweeney returned it to her, with the plan of getting her to Easter and getting Laura permanently resurrected. That plan didn’t work out, since there are greater rules of being-killedby-a-god at play. So what’s it going to take to bring back Laura, and is that even possible? With the rate the flies are circling, it’s a valid question to ask whether Laura is actually doomed to die — permanently this time.
Starz
3. What’s the deal with Shadow? It’s obvious there’s more going on with Shadow than we’ve been told so far. What’s with the gold glow, and why are all the gods concerned with him? Fans of the “American Gods” novel from which the show is adapted know there’s more to Shadow than meets the eye, but we’ll have to wait to see what direction “American Gods” takes in Season 2.
Starz
2. Who, or what, is the Buffalo (and also the Orchard of Bones)? In addition to being a target of the gods when he's awake, Shadow has been having some weird dreams. He's repeatedly pulled into a strange orchard made of bones, where he's greeted by a huge buffalo with flaming eyes. We know the buffalo is voiced by Ian McShane, but does that mean it's Mr. Wednesday, getting into Shadow's head? Or is there another god trying to make contact with Wednesday's man?
Starz
1. When’s Audrey coming back? Laura and Shadow’s best friend is also among the show’s funniest characters. Audrey also has shown herself to be one of the most interesting non-god characters to show up on the show so far, especially when interacting with undead Laura. “American Gods” left Audrey mostly out of its first season, except for a couple great appearances — hopefully she’s a bigger, funnier part of Season 2.
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We know a lot about where the gods came from, but not a lot about where they’re headed
The first season of "American Gods" was full of strange moments as gods both ancient and modern revealed themselves as living among mortals. But after eight episodes, there are plenty of dangling threads we're still waiting to see completed. Here are eight questions we want "American Gods" to answer when it comes back in Season 2.
Starz
Starz
