Nascent Southeast Asian online video service iflix has acquired rights in Malaysia and the Philippines for a host of Starz TV streamed programming, including the Emmy-nominated series Black Sails.
Black Sails, a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel Treasure Island, tells tales – across two seasons – of the notorious pirate Captain Flint.
In addition to the pirate saga, icflix subscribers in Malaysia and the Philippines will be able to watch The White Queen and all four seasons of the epic Starz Original series, Spartacus.
"Our partnership with Starz Digital brings a phenomenal mix of immersive dramas to our members," said Mark Britt, CEO, Iflix Group www.iflix.com. "We strive continuously to provide the best content available to our subscribers. We are incredibly excited to be able to offer brilliant shows that are global phenomena like Black Sails, The White Queen and Spartacus to stream on iflix."
Backed by Malaysia's Catcha Group and Evolution Media Capital, iflix plans to roll out its subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service to Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam in 2015, from its initial base in Malaysia and the Philippines. It received a $30 million injection of capital from Catcha and Philippines telco PLDT in April, which a large proportion will reportedly be invested on original programming for Southeast Asia.
Subscribers can access iflix' premium US, pan-Asian and local TV shows and films on five Internet-enabled devices for anywhere, anytime viewing.
"Starz Digital looks for strong distribution platforms in each territory that can premiere and market our shows to new audiences," said Mara Winokur, SVP of digital at Starz. "iflix has created an outstanding Internet TV service for consumers in Southeast Asia and we are very excited to partner with them on several of our hit Starz Original series and other licensed Starz Digital TV content."
Source: http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2015070138922/iflix-waves-black-sails-following-starz-vod-deal.html
