'Outlander' Season 4 News: Altice USA Drops Starz, Show to No Longer Air in New York Area and Other Locations
Despite profuse fan and cast and crew campaign, U.S. cable provider Altice has dropped "Outlander," which means that viewers in part of the region will no longer be able to watch the show on television.
Altice, who brings Sam (Jamie Heughan) and Claire's (Caitriona Balfe) story to over five million subscribers in the New York area and in Midwest states, claimed that the show's network, Starz, passed on a short-term contract extension beyond the deadline.
As to why they ultimately passed on "Outlander," the company claims that meeting Starz' demands on fees would mean increasing the charge to its subscribers, which will go up to more than the cost of the network's standalone streaming service.
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The official statement by the cable provider is as follows:
We are focused on providing the best content experience for our customers and continually evaluate which channels meet their needs and preferences relative to the cost of the programming imposed by content owners. Given that Starz is available to all consumers directly through Starz' own over-the-top streaming service, we don't believe it makes sense to charge all of our customers for Starz programming, particularly when their viewership is declining and the majority of our customers don't watch Starz.
In response, Starz noted that Altice showed "unwillingness to negotiate in good faith to the detriment of our shared customers" and that the network is available to speak with them again once they come up with "a fair and reasonable agreement that will serve the interests of our loyal subscribers."
In another statement, the network stated:
Altice wanted a drastic reduction in price that was totally inconsistent with the market and flew in the face of the record popularity of our programming. Quite simply, Starz wanted to negotiate a forward-looking agreement in the best interest of our two companies and our customers; Altice did not.
Although Altice has reached its verdict, the cast and crew of "Outlander" beginning with Balfe and Heughan themselves continue to ask for the help of fans to change the company's mind.
There is also a website put up specifically to guide fans how they can be one with the "Outlander" team to persuade Altice to "keep Starz."
Apart from "Outlander," other affected shows include "Power," "American Gods," and "Ash vs. Evil Dead."
