Starz Distribution

Background

Starz Distribution (formerly IDT Entertainment and Starz Media) is the media distribution division of Starz Inc. The company was formed in 2003 under the name "IDT Entertainment", which was a division of telecommunications company IDT Corporation. On May 16, 2006, IDT announced that they were selling the company to John Malone's Liberty Media Corporation, which holds minority ownership in media conglomerates like TimeWarner and Viacom. The acquisition was fully completed on September 29, and at that point IDT Entertainment was renamed to "Starz Media". The company fully owns Anchor Bay Entertainment (distribution of DVDs and videos), which was also owned by IDT at the time, and Manga Entertainment (distribution of anime). Starz Media was later spun off as an independent entity on January 11, 2013. At that point the company was renamed to "Starz Distribution". Lionsgate currently holds an estimated 13.5% share in Starz, though on June 30, 2016, Lionsgate reached an agreement with Starz Inc. (Starz Distribution's parent company) to acquire the company's remaining shares for $4.4 billion. The deal closed on December 8, 2016.

1st Logo (August 28, 2006-February 21, 2010)

Nickname: "The Starz Star"

Logo: On a white or black background, we see a light blue Starz star trademark, as seen on the Starz opener from 2005 to 2008, with the words "STARZ Media" on the right of the screen.

Variants:

Sometimes, this logo would have a copyright stamp below or on the lower right-hand corner of the logo.
On Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms, "in association with" would appear under the name.

FX/SFX: None or the logo fading in and out.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: The version with the white background was seen on season 1 of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!. When it was aired on Nickelodeon, it kept using this logo throughout its second season instead of using the next logo. The black background version is seen on Wubbzy's Big Movie!, TV documentaries, most owned films, including Hellboy Animated and the beginning of the second season of Masters of Horror. Video on-demand prints of these shows and movies plaster this logo with the Starz Digital logo.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (September 2, 2008-2016)

Logo: On a black background, the then-current Starz logo zooms and stops in the middle. Over it is a greenish-bluish-whitish haze. Below the Starz logo is the word "MEDIA".

Variants:

There's a version without "MEDIA".
There is a short version of this logo.
On Righteous Kill: The Game for PC, the logo is still.
On Starz 30 Second Bunnies and Tvoovies, "DIGITAL MEDIA" is underneath the Starz logo.

FX/SFX: The text zooming back.

Music/Sounds: A nice rock theme, adapted from Starz' feature presentation theme of the time. Otherwise, the end-title theme from any show.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on Z Rock, Starz 30 Second Bunnies, and the short version on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! starting with season 2 (Nickelodeon airings kept the first logo). The "MEDIA" variant was seen on The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon, Merlin and the Book of Beasts, Robin Hood: Beyond Sherwoof Forest, the first two season 2 Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! episodes "Who's That Girl?/Wubbzy's Big Move", and every DVD releases of the latter. It's also seen at the beginning of Starz-owned movies and Starz-owned shows such as Dan Vs.. It's occasionally seen on several films by Film Roman. It was seen in still variant on the game Righteous Kill for Starz Interactive. The later variant was also used as a network ID. Once again, video on-demand prints of these shows and movies plaster this logo with the Starz Digital logo.

Editor's Note: This logo has more effort put into it compared to the last two.

3rd Logo (2008-2016)

Logo: It's the print (black & white) version of the usual Starz logo in corporate font, without bylines. Above it is the text "are you ready?".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Much like a cap-license logo used only in games. It was seen on Righteous Kill: Revenge of the Poet Killer.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (2016-)

Logo: Same as the closing variant of the 2016 Starz Originals logo, but without the "ORIGINALS" text.

FX/SFX: Same as the closing variant of the 2016 Starz Originals logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the closing variant of the 2016 Starz Originals logo.

Availability: Current.

Editor's Note: Same as the closing variant of the 2016 Starz Originals logo.