Starz Distribution

Background
Starz Distribution is the media distribution division of Starz Inc. The company was formed in 2003 under the name "IDT Entertainment", as a division of telecommunications company IDT Corporation when they acquired Anchor Bay Entertainment and Film Roman. Later on, they purchased DKP Studios and turned it into their own animation studio. They soon owned stakes in DPS (Digital Production Solutions), Mainframe Entertainment and Vanguard Animation too. On May 13, 2004, they acquired Manga Entertainment, making it a label of Anchor Bay. In 2005, IDT signed a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox in the US (with an option for select international markets) for two animated features (Everyone's Hero and Space Chimps).

On May 16, 2006, IDT announced that they were selling the company to Dr. John C. Malone's Liberty Media Corporation, which at the time held minority ownership in media conglomerates like Time Warner and Viacom. The acquisition was fully completed on September 29, and IDT Entertainment was merged into the Starz cable network and renamed to "Starz Media". The company inherited Anchor Bay Entertainment (distribution of DVDs and videos), Film Roman (animation services), Manga Entertainment (distribution of anime) from IDT, while still co-owning it with them. The company also inherited their two-picture US distribution deal with Fox.

Starz Media's parent company was later spun off by Liberty Media as an independent company as "Starz Inc." on January 11, 2013, and Starz Media was renamed to "Starz Distribution". Lionsgate held an estimated 13.5% share in Starz at the time, though on June 30, 2016, Lionsgate reached an agreement with Starz Inc. to acquire the company's remaining shares for $4.4 billion. The deal closed on December 8, 2016.

1st Logo (March 4, 2004-November 12, 2006)


Logo: On a black background, we see the words "IDT" in sapphire blue with an arch in the same color fading in. There is a flame flying from the right forming "ENTERTAINMENT" in, with another flame branching off and forming a arch underneath the sapphire blue arch.

Variant: At the end of the TV series Masters of Horror, the logo is still and just fades in and out.

Technique: The flame flying and the silver arch forming.

Music/Sounds: None, the opening/end title theme from any movie or the sounds of fire and wind.

Availability: Rare. Seen on Me, Elosie on DVD, the first season of Masters of Horror and films that IDT Entertainment originally produced from the period; current prints plaster it with either the Starz Media logo or the Starz Digital logo. It also makes an odd appearance on the 2006 Anchor Bay UK release of The Secret Garden.

2nd Logo (July 29-December 4, 2006)


Logo: A scrolling filmstrip with frames of a scene from Everyone's Hero, where Yankee Irving (portrayed by Jake T. Austin) is conversing with the talking baseball, Screwie (portrayed by Rob Reiner), moves up from the bottom of the screen on a black- gradient background (a la the 3rd Marvel Productions logo), revealing the metallic text "IDT" in a wide futuristic font. When the end of the filmstrip reaches the top-left corner of the I, a filmstrip design appears and the filmstrip turns transparent and glows ghostly. When the filmstrip is out of view, a bright flash appears, causing the streaked square to appear behind the filmstrip design, the background to gain shimmering streaks and the whole logo to shine, then a metallic rectangular banner with "E N T E R T A I N M E N T" fades in below.

Technique: CGI animation using Alias Maya.

Music/Sounds: A majestic trumpet/string fanfare, composed by John Debney.

Music/Sounds Variant: The movie's recording sessions have alternate versions of the music.

Availability: Only appears on Everyone's Hero.

3rd Logo (August 21, 2006-January 29, 2007)


Logo: On a dark blue background, there is a box outlined in light yellow. Inside it is the giant word "Times New Roman" (in a shrinking size toward the right) in solid blue lettering surrounded by light yellow lights and dark blue silhouettes of a family below the letters. Below the box is the word "ENTERTAINMENT" in a stretched font.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: Extinct. It was only seen on the first 9 episodes, episodes 11 and 16 (the 10th and 12th episodes in production order) of ''Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!'' when it was aired on Noggin (now Nick Jr.); most current and international prints replace it with either the Starz Media logo or the Starz Digital logo.

1st Logo (October 19, 2006-May 1, 2009)
Logo: On a white or black background, we see a light blue Starz star trademark, as seen on the Starz opener from 2005 to 2008, with the words "STARZ Media" on the right of the screen.

Variants:
 * Sometimes, the logo would have a copyright stamp below or on the lower right-hand corner of the logo.
 * On Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms, "in association with" would appear under the name.

Technique: None or the logo fading in and out.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: Rare. The version with the white background was seen on Eloise: The Animated Series, Hellboy Animated and season 1 of ''Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!'' starting from "Who Needs School?/Magic Tricks". When it was aired on Nickelodeon, it kept using this logo throughout its second season instead of using the next logo until "Wubb Idol" (the last 5 episodes aired on the Nick Jr. channel with the 2nd logo). The black background version is seen on Painkiller Jane, TV documentaries, TV shows, most owned films, including Hellboy Animated and the beginning of the second season of Masters of Horror. Video on-demand and streaming prints of these shows and movies plaster this logo with the Starz Digital logo.

2nd Logo (September 2, 2008-2016)
Logo: On a black background, a four-pointed star appears, filling the screen with white. The white dies down to reveal the then-current Starz logo zooming until it stops in the middle, off-center to the left. Over it is a grayish teal haze. Below the Starz logo is the word "MEDIA", also aligned to the left.

Variants:
 * There is a version without "MEDIA".
 * There is a short version of this logo.
 * On Righteous Kill: The Game for PC, the logo is still.
 * On Starz 30 Second Bunnies, Tvoovies and some episodes of How It Should Have Ended, "DIGITAL MEDIA" is underneath the Starz logo.

Technique: The text zooming back.

Music/Sounds: A nice rock and roll theme, adapted from Starz' feature presentation theme of the time. Otherwise, the end-title theme from any show.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on Z Rock, Starz 30 Second Bunnies, Tvoovies, some episodes of How It Should Have Ended, and some reprints of ''Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!'' (Nickelodeon airings kept the first logo). The "MEDIA" variant was seen on some TV movies, the first season 2 ''Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! episode "Who's That Girl?/Wubbzy's Big Move", and every DVD release of the latter, as well as the last 5 episodes of said series on Nick Jr. It's also seen at the beginning of Starz-owned movies and shows that didn't directly air on the Starz channels, such as Dan Vs., and is also seen on the DVD release of Wubbzy's Big Movie''. It's occasionally seen on several films by Film Roman. The still variant appeared on Righteous Kill: The Game. The later variant was also used as a network ID. Once again, newer video on-demand prints of these shows and movies plaster this logo with the Starz Digital logo.

3rd Logo (2008-2016)


Logo: It's the print (black and white) version of the usual Starz logo in the corporate font, without bylines. Above it is the text "are you ready?".

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. Much like a cap-license logo used only in games. It was seen on Righteous Kill: Revenge of the Poet Killer.

4th Logo (2016-2022)


Logo: Same as the 2016 Starz ident, which is closing variant of the 2016 Starz Originals logo, but without the "ORIGINALS" text and "STARZ" moved to the center.

Technique: Same as the closing variant of the 2016 Starz Originals logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the closing variant of the 2016 Starz Originals logo.

Availability: No longer current. Seen on current prints of Midnight Movies: From The Margin To The Mainstream, plastering the Starz Encore Entertainment logo while keeping the music intact.

5th Logo (Late 2022-)


Logo: Same as the 2022 Starz ident without any additional text.

Technique: Same as the 2022 Starz ident.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 2022 Starz ident.

Availability: Current.