Starz Offers First Five Episodes of THE CHAIR on Demand

Starz announced today that the first five episodes of its original filmmaking experiment "The Chair" will be available exclusively for Starz subscribers on Starz PLAY and Starz ON DEMAND beginning on Saturday, September 6. The first episode of the network's first unscripted series will also debut on Starz on Saturday, September 6 at 11 pm ET/PT.

This rare opportunity allows Starz subscribers to watch the first five episodes of "The Chair" in advance of the episodes airing on the network.

"Starz is making the first five episodes of 'The Chair' available on the same day of the television premiere of the series to reach a young adult population that is in the vanguard of 'bingeing' on shows as their preferred method of viewing," said Chris Albrecht, CEO of Starz. "Starz is always interested in moving the premium programming model forward with strategies that are attuned to the projected audience demos of the show. We are once again utilizing an exposure tactic that has intrigued us since we first did it with last year's limited series 'Dancing on the Edge.'"

The digital platforms of Starz PLAY and Starz ON DEMAND are being emphasized as a means of accessing the series in addition to the two movies that are being produced by the young first-time filmmakers.

Created by Chris Moore, Executive Producer of Emmy®-nominated "Project Greenlight" and Co-Producer of Oscar®-winning Good Will Hunting, the 10-part documentary follows two first-time directors - who are given the same original screenplay - through the process of bringing their debut feature films to the big screen. Both films will also be available on Starz PLAY and Starz ON DEMAND beginning on October 25, and will air on the network before the finale of "The Chair" on STARZ.

Directors Shane Dawson and Anna Martemucci were provided with an identical screenplay and challenged to craft their own film. The series documents the creation, marketing and theatrical release of both adaptations. Both directors were given the same budget and the productions used locations in the same city - Pittsburgh, Penn. Through multiplatform voting, viewers will ultimately determine which director will be awarded $250,000.

Actor Zachary Quinto (Star Trek, "American Horror Story," "Heroes") and his producing Partners Corey Moosa and Neal Dodson will be featured in "The Chair" as they join Chris Moore and the script's original producer, Josh Shader, to serve as mentors to Dawson and Martemucci in their quest to develop the winning adaptation.

"The Chair" is Executive Produced by Chris Moore and Anthony B. Sacco, in partnership with Starz, and in association with The Steel Town Entertainment Project, Point Park University, WQED - Steeltown Incubator, Before the Door Pictures; Tunnel Post, The Brothers Henry, and Shaderville. The project is also supported by Animal, Inc., Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

"The Chair" will air Saturday nights at 11pm ET/PT until October 4 at which point it will follow the premiere of the Starz Original series "Survivor's Remorse," and air at 10pm ET/PT for the rest of the season.

Starz retains all domestic multiplatform pay TV rights to the original series.

For additional high-resolution images and other press materials please visit the Starz Media Room at http://starz.mediaroom.com.

For more information, go to the official The Chair website at www.starz.com/originals/thechair and Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/followthechair and follow @FollowTheChair on Twitter. Join the conversation with #TheChairTV.

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 June 30 2014, Starz and ENCORE serve a combined 55.4 million subscribers, including 22.0 million at STARZ, and 33.4 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.

To post a comment, you must register and login.