EXCLUSIVE: In Starz‘s Q4 earnings report in February, the company called 2026 a “positive financial inflection point,” declareing it would focus on profitability and generating positive free cash flow after its separation from Lionsgate. In addition to OTT subscriber growth and increasing content ownership, cost-reduction inevitably is part of the equation. That includes staff cuts.
Starz underwent a round of layoffs Friday that impacted 7% of the company’s employees, Deadline has learned. The shift, which is believed to involve a reorg, comes 10 months after newly public Starz, run by President and CEO Jeff Hirsch, separated from Lionsgate.
As reported in February, Starz reached 17.6 million total U.S. subscribers as of Q4 2025, a gain of 170,000, driven by 12.7 million OTT subscribers. The company reported a Q4 net loss of $20.7 million, narrowing its losses post-separation from Lionsgate.
“2025 was a very successful year, one in which we exceeded all of our financial guidance,” Hirsch declared on the earnings call. “It’s a feat we’re especially proud of amidst the pressures you see happening across the indusattempt.”
Starz previously laid off 10% of the company staff in 2023 in preparation for the separation from Lionsgate.
Leave a Reply