HBO Nordic & Starz Media Firm Up Exclusive Partnership

CANNES: HBO Nordic has entered into an exclusive licensing pact with Starz Media Worldwide Distribution, bringing titles such as Spartacus to the new multiplatform service.

HBO Nordic, which serves Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, has scored the exclusive pay-TV and SVOD rights for a host of premium content. The pact includes Spartacus for the SVOD services of HBO Nordic and Magic City, licensed for pay TV and SVOD.

Additional programming covered under the deal includes originals such as Party Down, Head Case and Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis; TV movies such as Jersey Shore Shark Attack and The 12 Wishes for Christmas; and series such as Painkiller Jane and Masters of Horror. HBO Nordic will also exclusively air future Starz originals series and additional movie content.

"HBO Nordic is very pleased to license a wide collection of original series and other TV and movie content from Starz,” said Hervé Payan, the CEO of HBO Nordic. “Magic City was one of the primary featured series aired exclusively at our upcoming launch. We are also very excited to have licensed Spartacus for SVOD, along with several future original series from Starz exclusively for our customers.”

“The licensing agreement with HBO Nordic brings a treasure trove of great movie and TV content that should play well to all audiences in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark,” added Gene George, the executive VP of worldwide distribution for Starz Media. “We are thrilled to be continuing our ongoing relationship with HBO abroad, as they launch in Scandinavia and feel privileged that several key Starz properties will be instrumental in their launch. This deal really spotlights the compelling collection of Starz original series and other owned/acquired content that we sell to distributors worldwide.”