In a landmark move, marking the culmination of a multi-year strategic effort, Lionsgate Entertainment has finalized the full separation of its studio and STARZ operations into two distinct, publicly traded entities.
As of today, Lionsgate Studios begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), while STARZ debuts on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol STRZ. This transition follows overwhelming shareholder approval at a special meeting held last month, where more than 99% of votes from both Class A and Class B shareholders supported the separation. Lionsgate also streamlined its equity structure by collapsing its dual share classes into a single common stock as part of the process.
"We began our journey 25 years ago as a new and different kind of studio, committed to bold, original content, agnostic to distribution platform, disciplined in our execution and powered by a deep library and an agile and entrepreneurial culture," said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. "Today we're launching an exciting new chapter as a leading pure play content company, adapting our proven strengths, embracing our emerging opportunities, and bringing our unique and not-easily-replicable portfolio of assets to bear on our mission of creating significant incremental value for our partners, audiences and shareholders."
The decision to spin off the two divisions is aimed at unlocking additional value by enabling each company to pursue focused strategies and attract investors aligned with their unique strengths. "Able to pursue their own strategic, financial and operational priorities and attract investors drawn to the strengths of their respective businesses," the company said in a statement, emphasizing the benefits of creating two "pure play" entities. The plan has been in development for more than three years.
Lionsgate Studios now emerges as one of the largest pure-play content companies on the public market. The studio's ambitious annual output includes 30 to 40 film releases, with at least a dozen major theatrical releases among them. On the television front, its scripted and unscripted divisions generate more than 100 series annually.
Beyond its content production capabilities, the studio manages a sprawling library of over 20,000 film and TV titles and oversees operations at 3 Arts Entertainment, a prominent talent management and production company. This expansive portfolio reflects the studio's continued evolution from a disruptive newcomer to an established industry leader.
Feltheimer also took a moment to recognize the contributions of the STARZ team over the years: "I want to thank our colleagues at STARZ for their many contributions to the Lionsgate family over the past eight years. We look forward to continuing to collaborate closely with them, and we are confident in their success as a standalone company."
The spinoff also ushers in a new era for STARZ, now independently led by President and CEO Jeff Hirsch. Over the past several years, Hirsch has spearheaded a digital transformation at the network, which now derives approximately 70% of its revenue from digital platforms. As of the end of 2024, STARZ counts 20 million subscribers across the U.S. and Canada.
Hirsch has positioned STARZ as a strong complement to other streaming services, having secured several bundling agreements with distribution partners. The company stated it is "poised to grow through capitalizing on new bundling, distribution and other partnership opportunities," highlighting an intent to aggressively pursue market expansion.
STARZ has built a strong identity around content that resonates with women and underrepresented groups. Flagship franchises such as "Outlander" and "Power" anchor the network's offering, with multiple "Power" Universe spin-offs already on the air and the highly anticipated "Outlander: Blood of My Blood" prequel in the pipeline.
"Today marks an important milestone in our history as we unlock significant value as a standalone business and advance our position as the leading premium entertainment destination for women and underrepresented audiences," said Hirsch. He added, "This separation comes at a pivotal time for the industry. Our strong balance sheet, compelling programming lineup and industry-leading tech stack will enable us to be nimble and capitalize on growth opportunities, while driving long-term success for our partners, audiences, employees and shareholders. We are thankful to Jon [Feltheimer] and the entire Lionsgate team for the past eight years of collaboration as well as for the ongoing partnership we'll maintain, and I look forward to beginning this new chapter for STARZ."
Tags: lionsgate studios, starz
