STARZ TV Review

STARZ is an inexpensive streaming option with some beloved old shows plus fresh, original content. 

It can’t compete with the goliath streaming services’ constant flow of movies and shows, but the easy-cancel model is perfect for you to leave and come back when something new arrives.

STARZ plans are straightforward. Pay $11 a month, $45.99 every six months, or $74.99 a year if you’re okay with locking into a longer-term commitment.

There are advantages to either approach! If you choose to pay monthly, you can cancel service whenever you want, no questions asked. But if you pay yearly, you’ll save about $30.

It all depends on how much STARZ content you’re interested in. If you only want to watch a single TV show, it makes more sense to pay as you go.

But that’s at regular prices—sometimes STARZ deals will change those calculations. 

In 2013, STARZ and Sony made a deal that guaranteed all Sony theatrical releases through 2021 would appear on STARZ. As of March 2022, STARZ is the exclusive home of the super-successful Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The service also currently offers other popular Sony movies like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Venom, and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

In addition, STARZ has a lot of oldies, like Matilda, Steel Magnolias, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Devil Wears Prada, and Hulk.

Interestingly, even though Lionsgate owns STARZ, STARZ doesn’t have the Twilight or Hunger Games movies—although that content does appear on STARZPLAY, the version of STARZ that’s accessible in Canada, Europe, and the Middle East.

What else doesn’t STARZ have? STARZ doesn’t have the most rave-worthy original content, and it’s also not the best streaming service for sports fans. But it still has some solid offerings that will appeal to a reasonably broad audience.

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV are all jostling to outvie each other with popular original content. But STARZ, not so much.

STARZ has some awesome original stuff, including content created for the STARZ TV channels (like Outlander and Party Down). But it hasn’t yet produced anything that’s as noteworthy as Stranger Things or Ted Lasso.

Here’s a list of STARZ original content:

No, but sort of. We’ll explain.

STARZ started as a bunch of cable TV channels, like STARZ and STARZ Encore. While the channels still exist—and are frequently premium add-ons for cable services—you can’t get them through the STARZ app.

STARZ lives up to its name by focusing on (movie and TV) starz. The service doesn’t cover any sporting events, although it does have some sports-inspired shows like Warriors of Liberty City and Mr. Baseball.

If you’re looking for sports, you’d be better off with Fubo, YouTube TV, or ESPN+.

Five years ago, Hollywood Reporter stated that STARZ would soon have more than 700 Spanish-language pieces of content on the app.

However, we can’t find any traces of this content.

And when we tried to switch preferred languages, we were surprised to see English was our only option. It looks like STARZ has relegated its Spanish content to STARZPLAY and the STARZ Encore Español channel.

Likewise, any STARZ international content is on STARZPLAY.

But even with no international content, STARZ still tries to cater to a diverse audience. For instance, the app offered many relevant options during Black History Month.

For the most part, the STARZ app will work well with your preferred mobile device/game console/other streaming conduits.

According to the STARZ website, the STARZ app works on the following devices:

As you can see, it almost makes more sense to ask what devices STARZ doesn’t work with (Playstation consoles, which some people are understandably unhappy about).

With a 4K streaming service like STARZ, you’ll want a minimum internet speed of 25 Mbps.

If you have several streaming, smart home, or other devices using the internet simultaneously while you watch STARZ, you’ll want at least 50 Mbps.

And if you have a super-connected home with many devices online while you watch STARZ, you’ll want to start with 500 Mbps. Otherwise, your other devices may eat up the bandwidth you need to watch Wanted: Dead or Alive.

If you’ve used a streaming service before, STARZ should be fairly intuitive. It models itself after Netflix.

When you log in, you’ll see several rows of suggested content such as “Popular,” “Recommended for You, “Just Added,” and “Trending.”

Surprisingly, we didn’t see an area of content that we’d already started watching, which is inconvenient. If you’re in the middle of Patrick Warburton’s Rules of Engagement, you may have to search for it in the search bar. Well, the browse bar—it’s literally labeled “Browse,” which may be confusing the first time you see it.

STARZ also has a few features we don’t commonly see in a streaming interface.

Before every TV and movie, STARZ has a screen that shares the content's rating and why it's rated the way it is. That way, if you forgot to check the show’s rating, you’ll get a last chance to make sure you want to watch. It’s extremely helpful if you have kids in the house or just don’t like explicit content.

You might have heard that STARZ doesn’t have ads. Sounds fake, but it’s actually true!

Sure, there are trailers for other STARZ content before you can watch whatever you’re watching! But no pesky ads for car insurance and dating apps will pop up in the middle of your stream.

STARZ may not have all the original content you crave, but it doesn’t cost much, and you can cancel anytime. We think it’s worth signing up for.

• Price: At $11 a month, STARZ’s price is low and reasonable.
• Content: STARZ has some solid creations plus older (and newer) movies and shows you’ll love rewatching, although it doesn’t have oodles of award-winning original content compared to other services.
• Devices: STARZ works with almost every streaming device you can think of. Well, except Playstation.
• Interface: STARZ is easy to use and has some great features, like pre-show ratings and minimal ads.

When comparing streaming services, we always consider the following:

1. Price
2. Content
3. Devices
4. Interface

To research this review, we spent extensive time on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, and, of course, STARZ.