Starz Play ‘multimillion-dollar’ boost

Treasure Island prequel Black Sails

MENA-based streaming service Starz Play, backed by US cablenet Starz, has received additional funding from its existing backers as well as fresh investment.

The on-demand streamer, which is available in 19 countries across the Middle East and North Africa has received a “multimillion-dollar” investment from existing investors including SEQ Capital Partners.

New partners include Delta Partners Capital, an emerging market-focused advisory and investment platform for the telecoms, media and digital space.

Starz Play launched 18 months ago and claims to have attracted more than 17 million visitors in October with 5,000 hours of shows, including Power, Black Sails and Ash vs Evil Dead from original investor Starz.

Starz Play said the investment would be used to finance expansion of its services and partnerships and provide for further content acquisitions. Its slate includes Billions, Ray Donovan, Top Gear and The Walking Dead.

Maaz Sheikh, CEO of Starz Play, said: “Strategic partnerships with leading studios, major telecom groups and device manufacturers have proven our long-term business model.

“This funding demonstrates the continued confidence our current investors have in Starz Play. We’ve raised the bar for SVoD services in this region and these new funds will enable us to further enhance our content and technology offering.”

Kaj-Erik Relander, partner at SEQ, said: “The SVoD industry is evolving rapidly and companies are competing aggressively to meet their customers’ requirements and demands.

“Starz Play has done an extremely impressive job of providing a convenient viewing experience for SVoD users in the MENA region. We are proud to be an investor in such an ambitious and fast growing company and we intend to equip this business to maintain its leading industry position.”

Kai-Uwe Ricke, chairman of Delta Partners Group, said his company would “leverage the expertise and network of Delta Partners Group to help the management in forging deeper and more successful win-win partnerships with telecom operators in MENA and beyond.”

John Penney, chairman of the board at Starz Play Arabia and chief strategy officer at Starz, added: “We are delighted to see additional investment come in from smart partners and view this as an endorsement of the vision we had when establishing the business, and the positive outlook we see going forward for the MENA marketplace.”

Lionsgate agreed to acquire US cablecaster Starz for a combination of cash and stock totalling US$4.4bn this summer.