Overview
- Starz reported Q2 revenue of $307.9 million, a 4% decline, while streaming (OTT) revenue inched up to $221.3 million marking the first year-over-year streaming gain in 18 months.
- The company booked a $147 million restructuring charge tied to terminating its pay-2 output agreement with Universal, a move that pushed the second-quarter net loss to $189.4 million.
- Management raised full-year adjusted OIBDA growth guidance from low single-digits to mid single-digits and reiterated a goal of a 20% adjusted OIBDA margin in the back half of 2027.
- Starz is shifting distribution and content strategy by offering Starz as a Peacock add-on, launching a discounted Crunchyroll bundle on Prime Video, focusing on owned IP like Fightland, and moving Canada to a content-licensing model.
- The firm cut its 2026 cash content spend target to below $600 million, reported negative free cash flow for the quarter, holds about $566 million in net debt, and has secured commitments to expand credit facilities by $100 million while final Universal cash payments run through 2028.