Starz networks, on-demand titles and the Starz app offered through Verizon FiOS have gone dark after the two companies failed to reach a new distribution agreement. The dispute escalated quickly from a public warning to a confirmed blackout.
Starz Networks President Alison Hoffman confirmed the loss late on October 1. “Since an agreement was not reached, customers have lost access to Starz’s programming,” she said. Hoffman accused Verizon of mischaracterizing Starz’s position and called the talks unproductive.
A different kind of carriage fight
This is not a typical pay-TV standoff over live sports or a broad entertainment bundle. Starz ended 2025 with 17.6 million subscribers and has stopped reporting the figure. About three-quarters of that subscriber base comes through its streaming service rather than traditional distribution.
That structure changes the risk. In earlier disputes, distributors have pointed customers toward standalone Starz streaming. Now, FiOS customers can sign up for Starz on streaming, which is not affected by the current dispute.
Starz has also positioned itself as an independent programmer focused on women and underrepresented audiences. Losing FiOS shelf space is a visibility problem, but the streaming base softens the immediate subscriber hit.
- Dark: Starz linear channels, Starz on Demand and Starz app access billed through FiOS.
- Unaffected: Direct Starz streaming sign-ups and existing app subscriptions outside the FiOS bundle.
- Key figure: 17.6 million total Starz subscribers at the end of 2025; roughly three-quarters on streaming.
The framework: distribution substitution
Think of this as distribution substitution: the content owner has a direct purchase path, so a failed carriage deal moves some demand from one checkout to another instead of destroying it. That is very different from a linear-only programmer that depends on a single pay-TV relationship.
For media buyers, the immediate job is delivery verification. If FiOS-delivered Starz placements were flighted for the affected window, shift to unaffected Starz streaming inventory or an adjacent premium audience rather than waiting for a settlement.
What to watch next
Two signals will reveal how the audience actually moves. First, watch whether Verizon offers retention credits or pushes alternative premium bundles. Second, watch whether Starz runs direct sign-up campaigns aimed at FiOS households.
The number that matters is not the carriage loss headline, but how quickly affected homes move to standalone Starz streaming and whether they churn from the bundle entirely. For planners, treat the FiOS segment as a retention cohort rather than an automatic churn figure.
Source: Deadline
