Starz posted a $189.4 million net loss for the second quarter of 2026, blown wide by a $147 million restructuring charge to walk away from its pay-2 film output agreement with Universal Pictures — a deal that gave Starz second-run rights to Universal's movies. CEO Jeff Hirsch told investors the films drew "lower viewership than we originally projected," making the deal uneconomical roughly a year into Starz's life as a standalone company (Variety).

The numbers are stark on the surface. Total revenue fell 4% year over year to $307.9 million. The operating loss ballooned to $175.5 million, up from $26.9 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The quarter before was rough, too: Q1 2026 revenue dropped 7.2% to $306.9 million with an operating loss of $152.8 million (Yahoo Finance). Starz had already exited the Universal deal in April 2026, citing a broader review of content costs (Deadline).

But underneath that charge, something shifted. Streaming revenue — what Starz calls OTT, for over-the-top delivery direct to viewers — posted its first year-over-year growth in 18 months. OTT revenue came in at $221.3 million, just edging past the $221.1 million from the year-ago quarter. Strip out $3 million tied to Canadian operations that was recorded in Q2 2025 but not in Q2 2026, and the increase would have been 1.4%. That Canadian figure shrank because Starz ended its distribution partnership with Bell at the close of 2025, switching to a simpler content-licensing model.

CFO Scott Macdonald told investors this should be the last restructuring charge of this size. Final cash payments to Universal are due in 2028, and he flagged 2029 as the year free cash flow growth takes a real step up. The company also raised its full-year 2026 adjusted OIBDA outlook — operating income before depreciation and amortisation — from low single-digit growth to mid single-digits.

Two new distribution deals broaden Starz's reach. In Q2 2026, it launched as an add-on subscription on NBCUniversal's Peacock for the first time. In July, it announced a discounted bundle with Crunchyroll, the anime specialist, available through Prime Video.

On the programming side, the quarter was carried by the Outlander finale, the Season 5 premiere of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and The Housemaid, which launched on 1 April. Hirsch noted that Raising Kanan has grown its audience since its first season five years ago — a hard thing to do as most shows lose viewers over time.

Then Fightland arrived. The boxing crime drama, produced by 50 Cent, premiered on 31 July and became Starz's second-best-rated original IP launch ever, behind only the first-season premiere of BMF in 2021. Hirsch said the early performance of Fightland and improved visibility into the second half of the year have increased his confidence that 2026 is a more significant turning point for Starz than the company initially expected — a company spending now to clear the decks for later.