that it would spin off Liberty Starz into its own separate, publicly traded company. The spin-off of the subsidiary was completed on January 11, 2013, with Liberty Starz changing its name to Starz Inc. as a result. On April 5, 2016, Encore and its seven multiplex channels were rebranded as Starz Encore, unifying the network under the brand umbrella of the channel that Encore ironically spun off in September 1994. With the rebranding, Starz Encore also began to carry reruns of Starz original comedy and drama series within its schedule. On June 30, 2016, Lionsgate agreed to acquire Starz Inc. for $4.4 billion in cash and stock; the acquisition was completed five months later on December 8. Channels List of channels Depending on the service provider, Encore provides up to thirteen multiplex channels – eight 24-hour multiplex channels, five of which are simulcast in both standard definition and high definition – as well as a subscription video-on-demand service (Encore On Demand). Encore broadcasts its primary and multiplex channels on both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules. The respective coastal feeds of each channel are usually packaged together (though most cable providers only offer the east and west coast feeds of the main Encore channel), resulting in the difference in local airtimes for a particular movie or program between two geographic locations being three hours at most. Background On February 1, 1994, Encore launched the pay television industry's first "themed" multiplex – seven additional channels that each focused on a specific genre. This was initially going to be composed of six channels, but Encore decided to launch its own competitor to HBO and Showtime, called Starz!, after a May 1993 deal in which it acquired the pay television rights to run Universal Studios films released after that year. Starz was the first of the multiplex channels to launch, debuting on February 1, 1994. Three additional multiplex channels launched five months later on July 1, 1994: Love Stories, Mystery, and Westerns; these were followed on September 12, 1994, by the launch of the final three channels: True Stories & Drama (later shortened to True Stories), Action and WAM!: America's Youth Network (later known as WAM!: America's Kidz Network; it also went under the preliminary names Arcade and Tweens prior to the launch of the multiplex). Encore initially utilized a numbering system for each multiplex channel: Love Stories was designated as "Encore 2",