Count one carriage deal down without too much drama for AT&T (NYSE:T), which added a constellation of Starz content to its U-verse IPTV service.
The telco said it extended and expanded its affiliation agreement for Starz' premium channels, HD, and on-demand services. The deal, which AT&T announced today, also gives AT&T the rights to deliver the Starz Online and Encore Online services for its premium subscribers.
The telco said it also has the rights to deliver the MoviePlex premium channel and associated MoviePlex On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and MoviePlex Online services in the future, giving it more depth for it IPTV customers as well as helping to shore up its TV Everywhere offerings. Financial terms and other deal specifics were not disclosed.
"We're very pleased to grow our relationship with Starz and deliver even more quality premium content on U-verse TV, and soon, online," Dan York, AT&T's President of Content, said . "This deal helps us with important strategic content initiatives and brings more value to our movie package and U-verse TV customers."
AT&T is no stranger to Liberty Media's Starz. It has some 17 premium channels and feeds from the content company, including all 13 Starz and Encore channels, West Coast feeds of the flagship Starz and Encore channels, plus IndiePlex and RetroPlex. Advanced services include five channels in HD including Starz HD, Starz Kids & Family HD, Starz Comedy HD, Starz Edge HD, and Encore HD, as well as Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, and Encore HD On Demand.
Starz flagship Starz and Encore brands have approximately 18.2 million and 32.8 million subscribers respectively; the company airs in total more than 1,000 movies and original series every month across its pay TV channels.
In May, meanwhile, AT&T rolled out a rebranded and expanded U-verse Online product in an effort to gain momentum in the over-the-top delivery space. The offering makes a bucketful of its content available for streaming, including a library of archived TV episodes, current catch-up episodes of favorites like Glee, Lost, VOD, pay-per-view events and more.
U-verse Online makes popular U-verse content available across multiple screens, including the TV, PC and mobile devices. In March, AT&T previewed plans to offer U-verse Mobile, a mobile app that will allow customers to download and watch select shows on their Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones later this year.
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