STARZ PLAY and ENCORE PLAY Authenticated Online Services Now Available for DIRECTV Customers

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Dec. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz Entertainment announced today the launch of the STARZ PLAY and ENCORE PLAY authenticated online services for DIRECTV's STARZ and ENCORE customers. The PLAY services offer these customers in the United States portable and online access to the best of its exclusive movies and originals premium programming at no extra charge.

STARZ PLAY and ENCORE PLAY apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are also available as free downloads from the App Store. The STARZ PLAY and ENCORE PLAY PC/Mac® interfaces are available at www.starzplay.com and www.encoreplay.com.  STARZ PLAY and ENCORE PLAY are accessible currently through Wi-Fi and broadband connections.  Cellular connectivity and support for Android phones/tablets and gaming consoles are expected to be launched in the future.  

STARZ PLAY offers approximately 400 monthly selections, including 300 movies comprising first-run films from Disney (Cars 2, The Muppets) and Sony (The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo, 21 Jump Street) and other great films from a wide selection of Hollywood studios, and 100 episodes of exclusive STARZ Original series, including "Spartacus," "Magic City," and "Boss."

ENCORE PLAY offers about 900 monthly selections, with 300 movies and select originals (Midnight in Paris, Jurassic Park, The Smurfs, "Titanic: Blood and Steel," "Moby Dick").

"We are very pleased to expand our relationship with DIRECTV and add STARZ PLAY and ENCORE PLAY to the suite of premium offerings provided by one of our largest customers," said Ed Huguez, President of Affiliate Distribution for Starz Entertainment.  "STARZ and ENCORE subscription performance on DIRECTV is consistently strong with a loyal customer base.  Now our subscribers on DIRECTV - ranging from tech savvy to novices - are sure to enjoy the added benefit of a terrific user-experience of the PLAY services as part of their monthly subscriptions."

Features/Functionality of the New PLAY Services

STARZ PLAY and ENCORE PLAY offer robust online access to the best of the quality movie, TV, and original series content offered by the respective Starz Entertainment premium services. With a simple and intuitive layout and design, each application offers new ways to enjoy the wide range of premium content offered on the STARZ and ENCORE channels and services.  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. 

STARZ and ENCORE are included as part of the DIRECTV Starz Super Pack, and ENCORE is also available in the DIRECTV CHOICE Ultimate package.

About Starz Entertainment

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie and original programming entertainment service provider operating in the United States. The company offers 17 premium channels including the flagship STARZ^® and ENCORE^® brands with approximately 20.8 million and 34.3 million subscribers respectively.  Starz Entertainment airs in total more than 1,000 movies and original series every month across its pay TV channels. Starz Entertainment is recognized as a pay TV leader in providing HD, On Demand, HD On Demand and online advanced services for its STARZ, ENCORE and MOVIEPLEX brands.  Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LMCA).

SOURCE Starz Entertainment, LLC