Starz and YouTube are continuing their partnership as the two companies are moving forward on a multi-year extension of their previous deal. Through this deal, YouTube TV subscribers will continue to be able to add Starz to their account for an additional monthly fee.
This partnership will also eventually include additional bundling opportunities and special offers, according to a press release.
“We are excited to deepen our partnership with YouTube TV, the fastest-growing pay TV distributor,” Alison Hoffman, president of Starz Networks, said. “This partnership further enhances our ability to deliver Starz’s extensive collection of premium programming to broader audiences at an exceptional value.”
Starz is known for its premium programming that focuses on stories by and for women and underrepresented communities. The network is currently home to the massive romantic hit “Outlander,” the critically praised “Three Women” and the ever-expanding “Power” universe. As for YouTube, its pay TV option — YouTube TV — has over 8 million subscribers. However, YouTube as a whole has dominated this calendar year. Viewership from both YouTube and YouTube TV consistently ranks No. 1 when it comes to Nielsen’s monthly The Gauge report, which reports the most watched TV by platform. In September of this year, YouTube accounted for 10.6% of all television usage.
This deal extension comes at the height of the bundling craze. Various streamers partnering with each other to create a better offering for consumers has become so ubiquitous that Netflix — the one notable holdout — used its third quarter earnings report to take shots at the practice.
“Programming for such a large, engaged audience, with so much variety and great quality, is hard,” the streamer wrote. “It’s why streaming services which lack our breadth of content are increasingly looking to bundle their offerings.”
