Why is Starz making Outlander season 4 sneak peek exclusive?
Unfortunately, those who didn’t get a chance to see the Outlander season 4 sneak peek last night on Starz are out of luck. Starz has yet to make the scene officially available on any of their video channels. While we’re well aware that there are unofficial channels out there, we’re not going to advertise those out of A) respect for the network and B) a realization that any such videos will potentially be taken down. Clearly, the goal was to make this, at least in the US, for subscribers only.
Let’s get back to the heart of this story, which is why Starz is decided to be a bit more exclusive with this preview than they’ve been with some of their other ones in the past.
1. For starters, it adds value to subscribing – Starz is, first and foremost, running a business, and they clearly realize that there is more value in encouraging Outlander fans to subscribe in order to watch the preview rather than giving it away. It’s a lot to ask people to buy a month’s subscription just for the sake of watching a sneak peek, but clearly they think that there are some viewers out there who may be incentivized enough to make a purchase. In turn, maybe some of these people check out some other programming like the upcoming Counterpart.
2. They know that the sneak peek alone wouldn’t court many new fans on the internet – Quality-wise, the preview (read our full take on it over here) is certainly good enough to inspire more people to watch; yet, Starz realizes that it is being released so long before the season 4 premiere that prospective viewers aren’t going to see it and suddenly decide to watch a show for the first time eight or so months from now. They’ll court casual viewers more with trailers and the like closer to the premiere. This is for diehard fans first and foremost.
3. Putting more pressure on Optimum – While we don’t think the carriage dispute between the network and the provider is the only reason that Starz decided to release the sneak peek, keeping it from the public is a good way to make Optimum subscribers all the angrier that a new agreement hasn’t been reached. We know that Starz wants that resolved, at a price in which they feel they are worth, sooner rather than later.
Related – Check out more Outlander headlines from this past week via our Roundup
Do you wish that Starz would make their Outlander season 4 sneak peek readily available to everyone? Are you bummed out that they aren’t? Share now in the comments!
As always, be sure to like CarterMatt on Facebook if you do want to score some other Outlander updates without waiting any longer. (Photo: Starz.)
kmc
January 15, 2018 @ 6:32 pm
It’s a smart move for Starz to show the sneak peek to subscribers only. It reminds me of the comic con attendees getting to see the first episode of season 3 while the rest of us had to wait a few months. It gives a buzz to the subscribers and lets them know they have followed the book almost exactly. Hopefully Starz will be more proactive promoting Outlander, the prior years lack of promotion or so late in recognizing their actors award nominations was an injustice to this great series. When closer to season 4, they should definitely open it up a wider audience.