Starz Shows 'Outlander,' 'American Gods' and More Face Uncertainty Following Agreement Fallout With Optimum
A number of popular TV series such as "Outlander" and "American Gods" now face uncertainty as their network Starz did not arrive at an agreement with cable company Optimum before their agreement expired late last month.
On the last few days of 2017, the agreement between Starz and Optimum's mother company, Altice, came to an end as the corporations failed to renew their distribution contracts which placed many hit TV series in limbo.
Starz is the network that mainly produces the said shows which are accessed by many viewers through their cable subscriptions with Optimum.
In a statement provided to The WRAP, Starz claimed that Altice was asking for "a totally unreasonable agreement" that did not compare to their previous 20-year deal.
However, Altice disagreed with Starz and countered: "Since our last contract renewal, Starz began offering a direct to consumer streaming service, which drastically changes the value proposition their network provides us and our customers."
Altice further explained that Starz was the one demanding for "outrageous increases in programming costs" which the former deemed impossible as it said it had seen "limited viewership" of Starz shows with its customers.
Altice said that the lower number of viewer ratings could be rooted to Starz' move to offer a variety of other ways in which people could watch their shows, including having their own streaming platform.
In light of the disagreements between Altice and Starz, the leading actors of the affected shows took to social media and asked their fans to sign a petition that would hopefully convince Optimum to renew their agreement with Starz.
To address the issue, the website KeepStarz.com was put up and instructed fans to call 844-71-STARZ and "tell Optimum you will switch to another provider if they don't bring back STARZ."
The same website also advised fans to tell Optimum that they would not be willing to pay the same subscription fees "for fewer channels." Fans were also instructed to use the "change service" line so they would be easily connected to a live representative to whom they could voice out their petition.
