Starz to Delay Some Content On Netflix
Pay-TV channel Starz plans to delay the availability of new TV shows and movies to Netflix Inc., adding to the list of media companies that have signaled plans to keep new content away from the growing online-video giant.
Starz, owned by Liberty Media Corp., said that, beginning April 1, new episodes of its original shows, like the forthcoming “Camelot,” will be delayed 90 days before being available on Netflix and a handful of other Internet services to which it licenses content. Starz added that exclusive first-run movies on the channel will “later follow suit.”
The shift comes as Netflix is generating increased anxiety in the entertainment business for its growing heft. Some networks and cable operators fear Netflix, with 20 million subscribers, could siphon away their customers, particularly with its new video streaming service.