Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch Calls It Misunderstood Asset As He Pitches Wall Street On Standalone Stock

deadline.com:

With Lionsgate Studios and Starz set to complete their separation by mid-January, the CEO of the latter made the case for why investors should buy a new Nasdaq-listed STRZ stock, calling it “a misunderstood asset.” “You’ve got a very good, investable business,” he told a UBS media conference, “one that has “actually made the transition from linear to digital faster than any other linear network and more successfully.” Starz’ $1.4 billion in revenue is mostly digital.

Its position with its core demos of women and African American viewers is quite strong. As a standalone, it will grow by acquiring similarly positioned networks that take advertising, which Starz doesn’t. “If you look at the disruption going on in the business today, there are a lot of linear networks or ad-supported networks that serve the demos that we serve today that are part of larger companies, that aren’t getting the focus that they deserve … that we could provide them. “I think there’s an opportunity once we separate, once we have our own balance sheet and a currency, to go out and acquire some of those linear assets … to expand the revenue base away from SVOD to having an AVOD that focuses in demos that we have through a little bit of M&A.” Wall Street and industry players haven’t been particularly sanguine about a standalone Starz, generally feeling it’s too small alone and more likely a seller than a buyer.

Hirsch says they don’t know it well enough since executives have yet not been out telling its story. It has 20 million subscribers with room to grow in a potential audience of 80 to 90 million.

It is complementary, not competing with broad-based streamers. It is looking to bundle and has news on that coming soon. It’s working with Walmart’s