The 'Outlander' channel has seen new customer adds jump 142 percent and viewership on Starz App rise 44 percent since Americans started to shelter at home.
The novel coronavirus, which has forced Americans to shelter at home, has been a boon to Starz as it has seen a big spike in streaming viewership and subscriber growth in the last month.
Starz on Thursday reported new customer additions across its streaming platforms in the U.S. increased 142 percent and viewership on the Starz App was up 44 percent since Americans went into lockdown on March 14 as a safety precaution.
The viewership spike comes as the Starz app, which usually costs $9 a month, is currently available at $5 a month for three months as part of a special promotion. As stay-at-home Americans increasingly get their TV fixes online, shares in streaming market leaders Netflix and Amazon have hit new highs as investors reward their streaming platforms for drawing in TV viewers cooped up in their homes.
In February, Lionsgate said its Starz cable and streaming asset finished the quarter with 26.2 million subscribers, or 19.9 million linear subscribers and another 6.3 million OTT customers in both the domestic and international markets.
As the coronavirus has Americans hunkering down, Starz is touting viewership and subscription spikes across its OTT and linear TV platforms in the U.S. and on its international premium streaming service, Starzplay, which has rolled out across Europe and Latin America.
As Americans quarantine, Starz viewership is up 33 percent on its flagship linear TV channel.
The top 10 titles domestically on Starz since March 14 have included the series Outlander, Power, Black Sails, The Spanish Princess, Dublin Murders, Wrong Man and American Gods, as well as the feature films Venom, The Equalizer 2 and Spiderman: Far From Home.
