Benefits cited in the announcement include improved content creation capabilities; additional distribution scale; potential acceleration of OTT services; and the usual revenue and cost synergies.
The combined companies will have a 16,000-title film and TV library; the largest independent television business in the world, including 87 original series on 42 U.S. networks, a film business that’s generated $7 billion in box office over the last four years; all or part of 30 channel platforms around the world, and more.
Both companies are involved in geek. Lionsgate's biggest recent property has been the Hunger Games franchise, and it has entered into a partnership with the organizer of San Diego Comic-Con to create a subscription streaming channel (see "Comic-Con, Lionsgate to launch SVOD Channel").
Starz Originals now include a number of shows with geek roots, including the upcoming American Gods (see “First Look at Starz’ ‘American Gods’”), Ash vs. Evil Dead (see "'Ash vs. Evil Dead' Trailer Has Plenty of Humor (and Gore)") and Outlander (see "'Outlander' TV Debut Set").