During the presentation of its latest financial reports, Lionsgate announced the withdrawal of Lionsgate+, the international studio’s streaming platform formerly known as Starzplay, from the Latin American market. The OTT will be in operation in the region until December 31, 2023. Like Starzplay, the service was launched in Latin America in 2019.

According to Lionsgate executives, the decision was made after a “key distributor” contacted the company with a view to licensing its content library for the Latin American market. The name of the distributor has not been disclosed.

Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch explained the following: “We were fairly enthusiastic about the territory. We had a broad distribution. Our content was working well there. We managed to close a very favorable deal, which opened the way for the profitability we were trying to achieve. That is the reason behind our decision to exit.” In a press release, it is noted that the withdrawal will make it possible for the company to focus its operations on the United States, Britain and Canada.

In addition, Lionsgate announced that the split of its studio business (Lionsgate) and its TV channels (Starz) into two separate companies would be postponed to the first quarter of 2024, as a result of the acquisition of Canadian production house Entertainment One (eOne) from Hasbro a few days ago.