After a divorce that dragged on longer than an “Outlander” time-travel subplot, Starz is finally free from Lionsgate. And CEO Jeffrey Hirsch? He’s strutting into the streaming thunderdome like a guy who just got his weekends back and knows exactly what he wants: more digital, more women, more underserved audiences—and definitely no FAST food.
Starz 2.0 isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. It’s chasing 80 million households across the U.S. and Canada and flexing a $1B revenue stream that’s already 70% digital. Translation: they’ve stopped pretending linear TV still matters. With a subscriber base that’s two-thirds women—split evenly between Black and white women—Starz is betting that what the other streamers call “niche” is actually “the future.”
And get this: they’ve been profitable the whole time. In an industry where platforms hemorrhage cash and call it “long-term vision,” Hirsch is out here converting 70% of that profit into unlevered free cash flow like it’s 2012 and investors still cared about EBITDA.
The content playbook isn’t changing: more “Power,” more “Outlander,” more stories “for, by, and about” audiences other platforms overlook while chasing four-quadrant hits that don’t actually hit. The new Miranda July adaptation “All Fours”? That’s a litmus test for what Starz wants to be: smart, bold, and unapologetically adult. Which brings us to their branding campaign—“We’re All Adults Here”—a not-so-subtle shot at the sanitized sameness of most SVOD libraries.
On the production side, Starz is post-custody agreement with Lionsgate. They’ll still play nice—Lionsgate owns the “Power” IP—but Starz is developing its own originals, controlling its own tech stack, and even hinting at using that stack to onboard other networks still stuck in 2008.
As for advertising, don’t expect a stampede to FAST. Hirsch basically called it AVOD in a linear trench coat and said they’ll be “very cautious.” Translation: they’re not jumping on the freebie bandwagon just to say they have a channel on Pluto. More importantly, they contractually can’t dive headfirst into AVOD or FAST—at least not with the bulk of their content. Existing deals tie up key programming in ways that make a FAST pivot anything but fast. So even if they wanted to jump into the ad-supported pool, they’d be doing it with one foot in a legal cast. Instead, they’re building an AVOD tier that complements their SVOD base without pissing off their linear partners or tanking their premium vibe.
The takeaway? Starz isn’t trying to be the next Netflix, or even the next HBO. It’s trying to be the first Starz—lean, profitable, culturally dialed-in, and finally in control of its own destiny. In a business that loves consolidation, Starz is betting on staying small, scrappy, and specific.
And honestly? That might be the smartest move in streaming right now.
