http://deadline.com/2016/03/cbs-buying-starz-cable-network-deal-talks-leslie-moonves-1201720007/

CBS already owns Showtime, and is now considering adding another premium pay cable network to its portfolio.

We get Starz, HBO...etc from time to time as a Free preview on Dish but to be honest nothing is ever on. It seems like they air the same things we saw years ago when we had premium channels. I wonder if subscriptions to these have dropped in recent years?

I dont have Starz and feel like I'm not missing anything.

We get Starz, HBO...etc from time to time as a Free preview on Dish but to be honest nothing is ever on. It seems like they air the same things we saw years ago when we had premium channels. I wonder if subscriptions to these have dropped in recent years?I would say yes. My parents have the lowest package from Comcast. not much channels, but they have the HBOs.

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/lionsgate-starz-acquire-4-4-billion-1201806544/

Lionsgate has sealed an agreement to acquire premium cabler Starz in a $4.4 billion cash and stock deal.

The deal had been expected. The two companies have flirted with a merger on and off for more than a year. The two were united in a corporate marriage early last year by investor John Malone, the majority shareholder in Starz who also acquired a stake in Lionsgate last year. Malone’s stake in Lionsgate will grow through the Starz acquisition pact as he will receive voting and non-voting Lionsgate shares in exchange for his preferred Starz Class B stock.

Malone’s personal stake in Lionsgate is believed to grow to about 7.5% of voting power in the company with the transaction. In addition the Malone-affiliated Liberty Global and Discovery Communications each hold 3.4% stakes in Lionsgate.

Lionsgate said the deal in total values Starz shares at $32.73, an 18% premium over the 20-day average trading price for Starz as of June 28. Starz shares have been on the rise for the past few months as acquisition rumors heated up.

Didn't Starz just buy Encore or merge with Encore? Figured they were in good shape.

http://realmoney.thestreet.com/articles/07/01/2016/what-lions-gate-starz-deal-means-viacom

The long-rumored tie-up in media finally happened yesterday: Lions Gate (LGF) bought Starz (STRZA) for $4.4 billion. Both sides spent time on their conference call explaining the benefits of Lions Gate's Canadian tax domicile, future cost synergies they expected to derive from the deal, as well as the value of their respective film libraries. However, the deal was of particular interest to Viacom (VIA) investors for another reason. Starz ended up being taken out for a 10x enterprise value (EV)-to-EBITDA multiple. For most of the last couple of years, Viacom has traded at a multiple below 10x. While there have been good reasons for this discount -- excessive executive compensation, poor ratings,

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/currency/malone-rejected-possible-cbs-acquisition-starz/158514

Well the concerns are about antitrust laws at play here.