BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Jan. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- "Black Sails" has become the most widely watched new series debut in the history of STARZ original programming, following its opening weekend on Saturday, January 25.

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More than 2.6 Million viewers watched the series premiere Live+Same Day (Live+SD) during its opening weekend on the network's linear channels


    --  Surpassed "The White Queen" premiere weekend (approximately 2.6 Million
        viewers), which had been the highest new series/miniseries premiere
        to-date, making this the highest STARZ series premiere weekend ever
    --  Nearly 1.7 Million Live+SD total viewers watched the combined Saturday
        telecasts, making this the best STARZ new series premiere night ever
    --  Nearly 850,000 Live+SD viewers for series premiere at 9PM ET/PT

Additionally, STARZ launched a wide, week-long sampling campaign with strong results to date:



    --  Early reporting of on-demand, online platforms and affiliate linear
        airings yielded an additional 900,000 viewers to-date and thus 3.5
        million viewers and counting

*Viewership for additional multiplex repeats, extended DVR, and complete STARZ ON DEMAND, Free On Demand, STARZ PLAY, and other online platforms are not included. More results available later this week.

(SOURCES: Nielsen Npower P2+ Live+SD data. Sampling results based on internal estimates of subscription and free On Demand, on-line as well as affiliate linear viewing. Subject to further qualifications available upon request.)

New episodes of "Black Sails" air on Saturdays at 9PM ET/PT exclusively on STARZ.

About "Black Sails"
 The eight-episode first season of "Black Sails" centers on the tales of Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his men, and takes place twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Treasure Island." "Black Sails" is executive produced by Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form (The Purge, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). The series was created by showrunner and executive producer Jonathan Steinberg (creator "Jericho," "Human Target") and co-executive producer Robert Levine ("Touch"). Production began on the 10-episode second season at Cape Town Studios in Cape Town, South Africa in November.

About Starz
 Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ(®) and ENCORE(®) pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of September 30, 2013, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 57.0 million subscribers, including 22.0 million at STARZ, and 35.0 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ(®) and ENCORE(®), along with Starz Networks' third network MOVIEPLEX(®), air over 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.



    Contacts:


    Theano Apostolou                                Eric Becker

    Starz                                           Starz

    (424) 204-4052                                  (303) 638-3469

    theano@starz.com                                eric.becker@starz.com

SOURCE Starz