Starz Posts $189M Loss, Lifts Profit Outlook
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- Starz reported Q2 2026 total revenue of $307.9M, down 4% YoY, while streaming (OTT) revenue hit $221.3M — its first year-over-year growth in 18 months excluding Canadian operations, which transitioned from a Bell distribution partnership to a content-licensing model at the end of 2025.
- Starz's $147M Q2 restructuring charge stems from the April termination of its pay-2 output deal with Universal Pictures; CFO Scott Macdonald said this should be the final large content restructuring charge, with 2029 poised for major free cash flow growth after final payments to Universal in 2028.
- Starz swung to a net loss of $189.4M in Q2 2026 (vs. $42.5M loss a year earlier), but adjusted OIBDA rose to $60M from $33.4M, prompting the company to raise full-year 2026 OIBDA growth guidance from low single-digits to mid single-digits.
- "Fightland," the 50 Cent-produced boxing crime drama that premiered July 31, became Starz's No. 2 best-rated original IP launch ever (behind "BMF" Season 1 in 2021); other top performers included "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" Season 5 and Lionsgate's "The Housemaid."
- Linear TV revenue at Starz dropped 14% to $86.6M due to declining traditional households, while Starz launched new distribution partnerships with NBCUniversal's Peacock (add-on subscription) and a discounted Crunchyroll bundle on Prime Video.
- Starz secured $100M in additional credit facility commitments — a $67M Term Loan A increase and $33M revolver increase — and still expects to end 2026 with adjusted OIBDA leverage of ~2.7x, even with the added debt.
Why it matters: Starz's $147M Universal exit charge masks an underlying OIBDA improvement ($60M vs. $33.4M a year ago) and streaming's first growth in 18 months — but with net debt at $566M and linear revenue falling 14%, the company is betting its owned-IP pivot (Fightland, P-Valley) carries it to its 20% OIBDA margin target by H2 2027.
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