TCA 2010: Albrecht Says Starz Will Remain On Series Development Track
But Premium Network Also Eyes Other Forms
Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 1/16/2010 3:21:40 PM
Pasadena, Calif. — Starz will continue on the road to developing original scripted content, but will not rely on the category to define its brand, said Chris Albrecht, the network's newly named president and CEO.
The ex-HBO honcho spoke Jan. 16 during Starz's TCA winter press tour session here, noting he's pleased to join the network during a "challenging and somewhat dazzling time" in the entertainment business.
Albrecht, who joined Starz Jan. 1 as the successor to former Starz CEO Robert Clasen, said he will continue Starz' plan to have a weekly hour of original content all year, which includes drama series Crash and next week's debut of Spartacus, as well as sophomore comedy series Party Down and freshman laugher Gravity, which will debut April 23.
"This is alchemy and we're putting together our chemical formula so I'm a fan of all [Starz original] shows and they are distinct from other shows that are on other networks and they're distinct from each other as well," he said.
Albrecht said he doesn't anticipate any problems drawing top producers and talent to Starz. "A lot of creative talent has recognized the opportunities to work in pay TV, so the nice thing is I don't have a [learning] curve to get over," he said. "There are a lot of people that are ready to come and bring their ideas to Starz, and I hope my joining the company will augment the number of those people. I don't think I will have to try to convince anybody -- I think people that have good ideas will be the ones that are going to try to get us to hear them."
He added, however, that the network won't be solely defined by its scripted fare, but through a mix of other content as well.
"Sometimes it's a trap to think only of series as the way to define your network and I'm going to try to avoid that trap," he said, without providing specifics about other programming fare. "I think series are an important part of what we're going to do -- it's a form unlike film or specials, but as we move forward we should be thinking about other things that we can do besides series, which [other networks] are doing."
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