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Competitor to HBO, Showtime and Starz — Having Already Surpassed Expectations — Eyes New Distribution Alliances, Readies Push to Add Subscribers

Apr 9, 2012  •  Post A Comment

A two-year-old pay-television channel is gearing up for a marketing blast to draw new subscribers ahead of a potential new digital partnership, reports the New York Post.

While Epix was viewed skeptically when it debuted, the network has managed to attract 10 million pay-TV customers, although that’s still far below the 20 million to 30 million customers of rivals such as HBO, Showtime and Starz, the story says. Epix has already surpassed the expectations of many critics, who predicted it would fail soon after it was announced in 2009.

Backed by Viacom’s Paramount, Lionsgate Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Epix will spend $8 million on a marketing campaign that includes TV and radio spots, the piece notes.

The marketing push, designed to pull new customers to the network, comes ahead of the expiration of the channel’s exclusive deal with Netflix. That $900 million deal, signed in 2010, helped Epix turn a profit, the piece notes.

With the exclusivity ending in September, Epix will be able to shop its movie library, including Lionsgate’s "The Hunger Games," to other digital services from companies such as Amazon.com and Comcast’s Streampix, the story points out.

Netflix could also pay up and continue its exclusive pact, which gives it movies 90 days after their release in the DVD window and about eight months after their theatrical release, the story adds.

One Comment

  1. Will movies from 2013 movies being shown on EPIX ever be shown on HBo Starz, etc. Like 6 months later or a year later. or does EPIX have an exclusive on some of that lasts forever???

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