Written by Liz Gannes
Posted Monday, March 24, 2008 at 3:17 PM PT

 

Starz to Sell on iTunes

Starz will launch on iTunes tonight, said Marc DeBevoise, SVP of business development and strategy for the production company, speaking at a panel at the Future of Television West conference in Hollywood.

DeBevoise said that consumers have demonstrated that they will buy content “as long as it feels like free,” attributing that idea to Fred Seibert of Next New Networks.

“I think they’re probably the best in episodic television,” said DeBevoise of Apple. “Netflix is big in subscription, other people VOD.” The studio representatives on the panel all said they are embracing multiple platforms. “I want my shows and feature films on every one of them,” said Joe Patrick, EVP North American television distribution at MGM.

Starz Media content, which includes brands like Manga Entertainment and Film Roman, is already available on Xbox and Amazon Unbox. We’ll tackle DeBevoise after his panel to find out what content will be available on iTunes.

DeBevoise said that while Starz is the largest seller of fitness content, “We have not even explored what to do with that digitally, to make as much money as we make on DVD and selling in the supermarket.”

Update: DeBevoise tells us after the panel (see video embedded above) that Starz will post six series on on iTunes any minute now. Those will be two half-hour sitcoms, Hollywood Residential and Head Case, as well as four Anime favorites.

“We’re trying to put it anywhere, everywhere, all those platforms; we want to reach the audience wherever they are, and get it as many places as possible, it just took us a little longer to get the iTunes one,” he said. But that flexibility isn’t without limits. DeBevoise added, “Certainly our subscription base, we don’t really muck around with that.”

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Comments (4)

  • The problem with most video re-sellers, like Starz Media (formerly Anchor Bay), is that they don’t own the underlying intellectual property to their best selling titles (Thomas the Train, Ghost in the Shell etc.) so they have to scramble to secure the digital rights and the margins get slimmer and slimmer as they pay royalties and fees to all the parties involved.

    It would be nice if media companies like Starz and MGM would look to pioneer distribution models instead of waking up to iTunes two years too late after they finally notice thier DVD sales slipping.

    mark pollack — 6:23 PM on March 24, 2008 Reply

  • As a PC user, I find iTunes a little confusing (no, I don’t have an iPod either). And I have to download some software too?

    I think Hulu got it right – a light, quick, user-friendly interface that works great. Ad-supported, no software to download, and content streaming in real time. I’ve been watching movies every night!

    rsslivetv — 5:44 AM on March 25, 2008 Reply

  • Manga has been running on HEAVY for a while now. a more interesting distribution than itunes.

    charlie snow — 6:40 AM on March 25, 2008 Reply

  • Manga has been running on HEAVY for a while now. a more interesting distribution than itunes.

    I haven’t heard of HEAVY til now. So clearly Starz will be exposing their material to a new and different audience.

    mikecane — 9:28 AM on March 25, 2008 Reply

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