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Pasadena, Calif. -- Having targeted African-American and female viewers with original content, Starz will reach out to Hispanic viewers with a number of new projects, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said during the network’s Television Critics Association press tour session Friday.
Albrecht said the network will launch several Hispanic-targeted series based on popular Spanish-language stories in an effort to reach second generation, bi-lingual Hispanic viewers who watch premium channels.
Among the new shows are Maleficio, based on the popular Mexian production El Maleficio, said Albrecht. He added he hoped the shows would be a successful in reaching its target audiences as its most watched series Power has reached out to African-American viewers and Outlander brought in female viewers.
“It’s an audience that’s hard to corral because there are a lot of cultural elements there, but I think if we put things out there that are familiar to them through pre-sold properties,” he said. “It’s an audience that is very pre-engaged in premium television, and if we can lean into them we can show them that Starz has them on our minds.”
Albrecht wouldn’t reveal further details on a potential Starz OTT app launch, saying that its still in the process of evaluating its options. Albrecht mentioned the network’s recent deal with Amazon, which provides Amazon Prime subscribers a Starz VOD library, plus a live feed of Encore and six live Starz multiplex feeds for $8.99 a month, as a move toward putting Starz on alternative platforms.
“To have your own app is to have an opportunity to be distributed by our current distribution partners in different ways should they decide to or through other portals,” he said. It’s early days with that stuff, but the new and the old are willing to exist side by side for a while, and its an exciting project right now and when we decide we have it right I think we’ll look at the opportunities and make some decisions on that.”
Albrecht did say the network will offer Starz Play subscribers an opportunity to binge-view its upcoming drama series The Girlfriend Experience when it launches on the network April 10.
