Starz, the streaming-focused network newly-split off from Lionsgate, showed signs of stabilizing its subscriber base in its fourth quarter results unveiled Thursday as it reported positive sequential U.S. over-the-top subscriber growth.
In its latest financial quarter to Dec. 31, 2025, Starz added 370,000 OTT subscribers to reach 12.66 million streaming customers but lost another 200,000 linear TV subscribers during the fourth quarter.
Starz put the latest OTT subscriber growth in part down to its script series lineup, which includes season 3 of Power Book IV: Force and the first season of Spartacus: House of Ashur.
The U.S. linear subscriber base at Starz ended the fourth quarter at 4.97 million customers. Starz recorded no Canadian linear TV subs in the latest quarter. That follows in Nov. 2025 the company announcing it had shifted from a joint venture model in Canada to a content licensing agreement with local partner Bell Canada to in part free up capital for original series production.
Starz Networks ended the fourth quarter with 17.63 million subscribers, down from 19.2 million in the third quarter, and 19.08 million at the end of the second quarter. Overall revenue for the fourth quarter was $322.8 million, down from a year-earlier $344.5 million and sequentially a Q3 revenue line at $321 million.
OTT revenue fell to $210.3 million during the latest quarter, against a year-earlier $239 million, while linear and other revenue was up at $112.5 million, compared to $105.5 million in the same period of 2024. Starz narrowed its fourth quarter net loss to $20.7 million, against a year-earlier net loss of $31.8 million.
“Just nine months after our separation, we are beginning to see the full impact of operating as a standalone company. We exceeded all our financial guidance in 2025 and expect 2026 to be a positive financial inflection point for the company as we enter the year with record-high OTT subscribers and a balance sheet that outperformed our deleveraging expectations,” stated Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch.
The exec added, “With a disciplined investment strategy, a more efficient operating model, and one of our strongest programming slates to date, we are poised to drive sustainable OTT revenue growth, expand profitability, and improve free cash flow as we execute against our longterm targets.”
