Starz is dark on Verizon Fios. Neither side has shown the rate.

As of Thursday afternoon, Oct. 1, 2026: Starz went dark on Verizon Fios, Verizon’s TV and internet service, when the “carriage” contract, the deal that lets Fios carry the Starz channels, expired at midnight Eastern time, the end of Wednesday, Sept. 30. Starz confirmed the blackout in a news release posted at 2:19 a.m. Eastern time Oct. 1. Starz’s own streaming service, the one you sign up for and pay Starz for directly, is not part of this fight, the entertainment trade paper Deadline reported. Neither company has published what Verizon pays Starz to carry the channels, under the old contract or the proposed one. No new deal had been announced by Thursday afternoon, and neither company had said anything new since that release.

I have watched this movie before. A channel goes dark the night a contract dies. Each company puts out a statement before breakfast. One says it negotiated in good faith and the other side removed the channel. The other says it is protecting families from a rate hike, and that going public ahead of the deadline was a pressure tactic. Then the customer, who already pays the bill, is told to pick a team without being shown the number either side is fighting over.

So far, this blackout has followed that pattern.

What went dark on Fios

Starz said the two companies did not reach a new deal, and its release listed what Fios customers lost: “all STARZ channels, STARZ On Demand and the STARZ app through Verizon Fios,” meaning the app login that came with a Fios TV package. On Demand is the library of Starz shows you can pick and play any time. The release also named its best-known shows: the Power series and its spin-offs, including the upcoming Power: Origins, Outlander and Outlander: Blood of My Blood, P-Valley, S.W.A.T. Exiles, Fightland, Tip Toe, and the film library, including the Michael Jackson film Michael.

Starz’s own year-end report says it finished 2025 with 17.6 million U.S. subscribers, and 12.7 million of them, about 72 percent, were streaming subscribers. Those figures count Starz customers across the country, however they pay for it. Verizon has not said how many Fios customers had Starz in their package.

The statements from Starz and Verizon

Starz put out its first statement at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, Sept. 30, before the contract ran out. Alison Hoffman, president of Starz Networks, said Starz “has been negotiating in good faith with Verizon” and that “our viewers should be prepared for Verizon to remove STARZ.” She described Starz as an independent programmer dedicated to women and underrepresented audiences. A programmer, in TV terms, is a company that makes channels and sells them to providers like Verizon. She said limiting access to Starz “would reduce competition and consumer choice.”

Verizon answered that warning on Wednesday, before the blackout, and Variety, a Hollywood trade paper, published its statement in full. The statement said it was “disappointing that Starz has chosen to publicly signal a potential channel removal while Verizon remains actively engaged in constructive discussions,” and called the public warning “an unnecessary pressure tactic.” Verizon said it wants a wide variety of programming while “protecting our viewers from unjustified price increases.” Its specific charge: “Starz is attempting to use public pressure to force higher rates on our customers which would directly drive up monthly bills for the families we serve.” Verizon had not added to that statement by Thursday afternoon.

After the channels went dark, Starz’s 2:19 a.m. release carried its second statement, and this time Hoffman blamed Verizon directly. “Verizon has chosen to remove STARZ,” she said. “Verizon has mischaracterized our position, shown an unwillingness to negotiate and has been unproductive in progressing towards a mutually beneficial outcome.” She called Starz “one of the few remaining independent entertainment companies,” in a business she said is dominated by large conglomerates, and said Verizon’s decision “leaves viewers with fewer choices.” She added, “We stand ready to reach a fair agreement that restores STARZ to Verizon customers as quickly as possible.”

Checking each company’s claims

I can confirm two things: the blackout, and that Starz is independent, as Hoffman says. Starz has been its own company, with its own stock traded under the symbol STRZ, since it split in May 2025 from Lionsgate, the film and TV studio that used to own it. It is not owned by Disney, Warner or Paramount. The words “unwillingness” and “unproductive” describe private talks that no one outside can check, because neither side has shown the written terms it offered.

When a carriage contract lapses, Verizon loses the right to show the channel. Starz’s line “Verizon has chosen to remove STARZ” describes that lapse as Verizon’s decision. “Mischaracterized our position” is aimed at Verizon’s Wednesday statement about higher rates.

Hoffman’s point that the blackout “leaves viewers with fewer choices” held true for Fios customers on Thursday, unless they also pay Starz directly.

Verizon says higher rates “would directly drive up monthly bills.” TV providers usually say that in these fights, but it leaves out how a fee increase would reach your bill. The carriage fee could be absorbed by Verizon, spread across the price of the whole TV package, or added as its own line on your bill. Verizon has not told customers which it would do. “Unjustified” is a judgment. Whether a higher fee is fair depends on what Starz spends on shows like Power and Outlander and how many Fios homes watch it.

Verizon called Starz’s early public warning a pressure tactic. The warning gave Fios customers a few hours’ notice that they could lose the channel at midnight, which also put public pressure on Verizon while the talks were still going.

If you had Starz through Fios

If Starz was inside your Fios TV package, the channel, the On Demand library and the app login are off until a deal is signed. Neither company’s statement says whether Fios customers will get a credit on their bill for the missing channels, so that is the question to ask if you call Verizon.

The workaround available now is a direct Starz subscription. That means a second bill, paid to Starz on top of the Fios bill. If you watched Starz only through Fios and do not want a second subscription, there is no other way to get it for now.

I will update this if either side publishes a number, or if Starz comes back on Fios.