Starz Petitions FCC to Intervene in Altice Dispute

Starz has filed petitions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in an effort to restore its channels to Altice customers.

Starz filed a petition for declaratory ruling, enforcement order and further relief. The petitions request that, among other things, the FCC direct Altice to restore carriage of Starz, Starz Encore and MoviePlex for the FCC-required 30-day notice period. It is also asking that the FCC corrects Altice’s “misleading and false disclosures” regarding its deletions of Starz’s channels, as well as respond to consumer inquiries and complaints in compliance with FCC rules.

The Starz channels have been dark on Altice since January 1.

“To our great disappointment, and to the disappointment of Altice customers, Starz and its affiliated channels continue to remain off the air in New York,” said Chris Albrecht, the president and CEO of Starz. “This disruption has caused high-quality programming that promotes diversity in its production, talent and content, to be taken from viewers with no notice. More than that, Altice has continued a pattern of abusive consumer practices in avoiding the inquiries and complaints of its subscribers about the deletion.

“The filing of today’s petition is the next step in our effort to ensure that Altice subscribers receive the full value of their subscription, including restoration of all Starz channels,” continued Albrecht. “Starz has never stopped transmitting its service to Altice and it is time for them to do the right thing by either restoring the service or giving our customers a refund.”