Starz Subscribers Reach 17.6 Million, Losses Narrow Post-Lionsgate

Starz ended 2025 with issues wanting up post-Lionsgate cut up the now-standalone company narrowed its losses to $20.7 million vs. $31.8 million in the comparable This autumn of 2024.

The premium TV media company closed the October-December quarter with 12.7 million U.S. streaming subscribers, an addition of 370,000 clients from the earlier interval. Total subscribers across Starz platforms reached 17.6 million, up 170,000 subs. Those totals not embrace Canadian clients, following Starz resolution to alter its enterprise mannequin from a three way partnership with Bell Media to a content licensing settlement.

During the three-month stretch, Starz reported content write-offs of $7.1 million and transaction and “other” prices of $2.3 million.

Streaming income for the interval was $210.3 million (down from $239 million yr over yr), while linear and “other” income rose to $112.5 million vs. $105.5 million at the end of 2024.

“Just nine months after our separation, we are beginning to see the full impact of operating as a standalone company,” Starz CEO and president Jeffrey Hirsch said in a letter to shareholders. “We exceeded all our financial guidance in 2025 and expect 2026 to be a positive financial inflection point for the company as we enter the year with record-high OTT subscribers and a balance sheet that outperformed our deleveraging expectations,” said STARZ President and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch. “With a disciplined investment strategy, a more efficient operating model, and one of our strongest programming slates to date, we are poised to drive sustainable OTT revenue growth, expand profitability, and improve free cash flow as we execute against our long- term targets.”

Wall Street forecast a loss of earnings per share (EPS) of 85 cents on $322.2 million in income, according to analyst consensus data supplied by LSEG. Starz reported a loss per share of $1.24 on $322.8 million in income.

Operating loss dropped from $21.2 million in 2024 to $4.7 million.

More to return…