Starz (Canada)
Logo used since 2022 | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Astral Media (1994–2013) Bell Media (2013–present) (branding licensed from Starz Inc.) |
| Sister channels | Crave Super Écran |
| History | |
| Launched | October 1, 1994, 29 years ago |
| Replaced | Encore Avenue (Western Canada; 2016) |
| Former names | TMN Moviepix (1994–1996) Moviepix (1996–2003) Mpix (2003–2012) The Movie Network Encore (2012–2019) |
| Links | |
| Website | starz.ca |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Amazon Prime Channels | Over-the-top TV |
| Apple TV Channels | Over-the-top TV |
| Crave | Over-the-top TV |
Starz is a Canadian English language premium television network owned by Bell Media under license from Starz Inc. and launched on October 1, 1994.
Originally launched by Astral Media as TMN Moviepix, a sister service to The Movie Network (now the Crave pay TV network) carrying classic films; it carried this format under various names including Mpix and The Movie Network Encore. Five years after Astral was acquired by Bell Media, the latter struck a partnership with Starz Entertainment (at the time known as Lionsgate) to rebrand the network as the local equivalent of the eponymous American pay television channel in March 2019 and broadcast its select original programming.
Starz is carried by various Canadian cable and satellite television providers, including Bell Satellite TV, Shaw Direct, Rogers Cable, Vidéotron, EastLink, Shaw, Telus and Cogeco; since the 2019 relaunch it has also been available on a direct-to-consumer basis as an addon to the Crave streaming service, as well as through Amazon Prime Video Channels and Apple TV Channels. Similarly to TMN/Crave, TMN Encore operated only in provinces east of the Ontario-Manitoba border until 2016, with Western Canada served by a similar service run by Movie Central known as Encore Avenue. With the shutdown of both services in 2016, Encore/Starz has since served the entirety of Canada.