Starz’s new tagline — Starz: Obsessable — is part of the company’s plan to increase its digital viewership and to highlight the fandom of hit shows like Outlander and Ash vs. Evil Dead. Beyond that, the company plans to use Encore to attract new Starz subscribers by exposing its audience to its content. Viewers should have no complaints, because this means that Encore (soon be known as Starz Encore) will offer previous seasons of Starz original series and the network’s catalog of classic films.
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With Encore coming under the Starz umbrella, its multiplex channels will get the same Starz naming treatment. In total, Starz’s combined service will include 14 channels. The idea is that as Starz content reaches a wider audience, the network will be able to draw in new subscribers. Nielsen data has shown that this may work, with two percent of households that watched Black Sails reruns on Encore subscribing to Starz.
The network likely hopes to see a similar trend, but on a much wider scale. It helps, of course, that Starz has been building its original content. In addition to the addictive Outlander and Ash vs. Evil Dead, shows like the call-girl drama The Girlfriend Experience and the fantasy series American Gods are on their way.
Just how “obsessable” Starz’s series are will likely determine whether making them available to Encore subscribers brings those subscribers over, but the decision, however it turns out, serves as evidence that original content has become a key weapon in the subscription and streaming wars.
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