Starz Samples 'Power' Episodes

Starz is looking to power up awareness for the second season of its drama series Power by making episodes from the series’ first season available prior to the show’s June 6 return.

Beginning today through June 8, Starz will make available free on demand through cable and satellite services the first four episodes of season one of Power, which follows the exploits of James “Ghost” St. Patrick as he looks to transition from his successful drug business to a successful nightclub owner.

In addition, Starz will replay all eight episodes of the series as part of a marathon run May 25 through May 28 on its premium channel, said network officials.

“The four episode sample of Power season one is designed to reach folks who may have missed the first season either because they are new to Starz or they heard the buzz about the show and were interested in getting started from the beginning,” said Michael Thornton, Chief Revenue Officer for Starz. “We have multiple objectives for the sampling, not the least of which is to capture new subscribers for Starz"

In addition to TV, the network will run a social media campaign via Twitter and Facebook, and is currently running an ad campaign on New York and Los Angeles subway cars, according to network officials.

On the retail store front, the network has developed in-store signage for the series at Walmart, Target and Best Buy. Starz has also teamed with FYE to create a social media giveaway with a season two tune-in message.

The network is hoping to build on the 4.7 million viewers the series averaged across all platforms during its freshman run last summer. "We saw tremendous growth in the Power audience in the second half of the first season and are hoping to continue that upward trend this season," said Thornton.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.