Starz movies and TV shows are also coming to Xbox One.
Starz Play has launched on Xbox Live and is in development for the new Xbox One. The launch marks the first video game and entertainment console deployment for the popular online service and the first extension directly to the television. Starz Play is available now in the United States as a free download for Xbox Live Gold members in the Xbox Store.
The company’s other authenticated online services, Encore Play and Movieplex Play, are also in development. Launches are expected in the first half of 2014 on the Xbox 360 and will be included as part of the company’s broader Xbox One development efforts.
“Teaming up with Xbox is an exciting new addition for Starz Play. The Xbox 360 app launch today offers tens of millions of current and prospective Starz subscribers an exciting way to enjoy premium Starz exclusive movies and originals on the TV, and we pledge the incredible new Xbox One is a top priority for our 2014 development plans,” said Michael Thornton, Chief Revenue Officer of Starz. “With the dynamic Starz Play Xbox user interface, which includes full voice and gesture support with Kinect, we have developed a tremendous new vehicle for subscribers to enjoy the unmatched Starz premium TV experience on the television,”
Thornton continued, “The Play services have been well received and are in great demand from our key multichannel distributors, most having just launched in the past year. Starz Play – with its terrific combination of exclusive premium movies and Starz Original series offered on a wide range of devices and platforms at no additional charge - exemplifies the new ways we are adding value to the underlying premium Starz subscription for the benefit of consumers and our distributors.”
Since launching in October 2012, the Play service device support has grown significantly and is now available on a wide array of platforms including PCs/Macs, and devices including iPhone, iPad & iPod touch and several Android handsets, tablets and other platforms including Kindle fire, Kindle Fire HD, Nook HD, Nook HD+ and select Google Nexus devices including the Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10.
Starz Play, Encore Play, and Movieplex Play offer robust online monthly access to approximately 1,500 of the premier movies, originals, and additional TV episodes from the respective Starz premium services. Provided at no additional monthly charge, the three authenticated online Play services provide a suite of easy-to-use, online viewing options for Starz, Encore and Movieplex subscribers to enjoy the quality original programming and commercial-free movies offered on the respective Starz, Encore and Movieplex services.
Starz Play offers approximately 400 monthly selections, including 300 movies comprising first-run films from Disney (Wreck-It Ralph, Oz the Great and Powerful, Brave) and Sony (Zero Dark Thirty, Men in Black 3, Hotel Transylvania, Evil Dead) and other great films from a wide selection of Hollywood studios, and 100 episodes of exclusive Starz Original series, including “The White Queen,” “Da Vinci’s Demons, “Spartacus,” “Magic City,” and “Black Sails” (premiering in January). Encore Play offers about 900 monthly selections, with 300 movies and select series (Here Comes the Boom, Hope Springs, Hitch, Good Will Hunting, Rush Hour, Back to the Future, Basic Instinct, “Diff’rent Strokes,” “Murphy Brown”). Movieplex Play (Little Man, Starship Troopers, Seven Years in Tibet, The Fifth Element, The English Patient, American Graffiti) offers additionally about 200 movies every month.
Family members can Play everything from great family films to the riveting action and intrigue of “Spartacus” and coming in January 2014, “Black Sails,” on many new platforms in addition to television. Resume functionality allows the user to seamlessly pick up from where they left off in watching a great movie or TV show on any registered device in the account.
Easy set-up of parental controls provides families with options for limiting content accessibility. Menus, screens and commands are optimized for touchscreens to provide a fun, but efficient, means to drop down and swipe through the quality content selection and viewership controls. Facebook and Twitter integrations let fans talk about the latest episode of their favorite Starz Original series or big hit movie.
