Starz also packages the Eastern and Pacific feeds of the main Starz service and all multiplex channels together, allowing viewers a second chance to watch the same movie/program three hours earlier or later depending on their geographic location.
Starz is also the only premium channel with an online movie service, Vongo. Starz also has a movies-on-demand service (Starz on Demand) as well as a high-definition service: Starz HD.

The Starz Family of Networks

In 1994, Encore launched the industry's first "themed" network - 7 additional channels that each focused on a specific genre. Initially this was to be six networks, but Encore decided to launch its own competitor to HBO and Showtime, dubbed Starz!, acquiring the rights to first-run Universal Studios films.
Each was given its own number to identify itself as an Encore channel (see Encore article for more information). Starz was the notable exception as it continued to use the "Encore 8" branding in its main idents and movie openers until 2002, even as it was separated entirely from the Encore brand and in the late 1990s, given its own family of networks. One of which included a joint venture with BET called BET Movies: Starz!, which later became Black Starz! after BET was opted out of the venture and was acquired by Viacom in 2001.
On March 28, 2005, Starz and Encore both underwent major rebrands. While Encore's rebrand involved a slightly modified logo and the addition of the Encore name to all of its channels, Starz's makeover was more dramatic, opting for a completely redesigned logo and cohesive graphics package across all channels. Several channels formats were changed completely. Starz Theater, a channel that showed four Starz films at fixed times all week, changed its name and format, respectively, to Starz Edge, a movie channel for young men (also known as "The New Generation"). Starz Kids and Starz Family were merged into one channel (Starz Kids and Family) to make room for a new channel called Starz Comedy. And to fit in with the new look, Black Starz was renamed Starz InBlack. Starz Cinema is the only Starz channel other than the main channel to keep its original name.
The Starz Multiplex has been given several names over the years, including "Starz Super Pak." It now has no "official" name. Viewers are simply told they are watching "one of the six Starz channels." An unofficial name for the Starz and Encore networks on DISH Network is the 'Starz Moviepack,' while other affiliates who bundle all of the channels still use the "Starz Super Pak" moniker.

Branding

Just as Encore's is a starburst, Starz's signature logo is a star. In the 1994 launch design, the star was comprised of two stars, one large one and one smaller one a silhouette inside the first star. In the 2005 relaunch, this version of the Starz logo was abandoned for a hand-drawn star shooting upwards.
The original on-air graphics were styled like a movie theater. The main network ID featured seats opening (by themselves), various theater imagery, and even images resembling the Caduceus. The word "STARZ!" in the network logo was styled after 1930's-era movie poster typography. Starz! also heavily included its designation of "encore8" in their graphics, even after the numbering system was abandoned for "an encore network" (a branding Starz! also used, though sparingly) in 1997. The Feature Presentation also heavily used the movie theater themes (here spotlights and film canisters) and the "encore8" name. This look was ultimately abandoned in May 2002.
In 2002, Starz! introduced the InfoBar, a bar that appears on the bottom of the screen during breaks and at the end of movies. Its original purpose was to promote upcoming programming. In the same year, Starz! underwent a major on-air branding revamp, changing from the "theater" look that had been used since the day the network signed on to a look based around natural themes (particularly water). The new look did not carry over to any of the spin-off channels, despite that, Starz! introduced a 7-note fanfare as a musical motif. All of the 2002 branding (excluding the fanfare, which was remixed) was dropped in 2005.
In 2005, Starz began branding its feature film content with a semi-transparent version of logo appearing in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Starz's Tom Southwick explains his channel's apparent identity crisis: "Our research found that a large number of our viewers did not know which channel they were watching when they tuned in, particularly if they were channel surfing and came in after the start of the film. We do not use the bug continuously or on all our films. But we need to get attribution for the films we run, and for which we pay hefty fees to the studios. The situation has grown worse as additional premium channels have launched in the past few years and many viewers subscribe to more than one package."
Showtime and Cinemax have already begun branding its feature film and series content with a semi-transparent version of logo appearing in the lower-right corner of the screen on their networks.
Another part of the relaunch is a revamped InfoBar, whose purpose was expanded to tell viewers they were watching "one of the six Starz channels", promote events on the other networks, (example: the InfoBar on Starz promotes "Stand Up or Shut Up" on Starz Comedy) and display entertainment headlines from The Daily Variety's website. Encore has also adapted a similar version of the InfoBar for its networks.

Logos

Starz!

Starz! Cinema

Starz Comedy

Starz Edge

Starz in Black

Starz Kids & Family

Starz HDTV

Movies

Starz is known to air new hit movies and premiering a new movie every Saturday night on Starz Saturday Premiere. Starz and its fellow movie channels have exclusive film output deals with the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group (including Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Pixar, and Miramax Films), Sony Pictures Entertainment (including Columbia Pictures [including films produced by Revolution Studios], Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, TriStar), Overture Films, and Warren Miller Films, among other leading distributors.

See also

★ Encore

★ Prism

★ List of DirecTV channels

★ List of Dish Network channels

External link

★ Official Site