Starz, Sony in Deal for Pay-TV Rights to Films

Underscoring the value of film libraries in the new Digital Age, Starz Encore Media Group, which operates premium cable movie channels, has signed a six-year deal with Sony Corp. for exclusive pay-television rights to its future films. The agreement is valued at approximately $2 billion, according to sources close to the negotiations.

In addition to extending its non-exclusive contract with Sony in which it licenses movies that have already aired on TV, Starz Encore, in a deal that begins in 2005, is securing rights for a new service that will enable its subscribers to watch titles on demand for one month.

Home Box Office holds pay-TV rights to Sony releases through 2004. “Not only did we get a first-run exclusive output deal away from HBO, but we have obtained rights on all of the other licensed products for subscription video on demand, Internet video streaming and downloading onto hard drives,” Starz Encore Chairman John Sie said.

Starz Encore reached a similar 10-year agreement in August with Walt Disney Co.

Last month, HBO extended its film licensing agreement with News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox studio for six years, a contract valued at more than $1 billion.

The agreement with Sony Pictures Entertainment covers films from Columbia, Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics. Sony is expected to deliver more than 200 pictures during the agreement.