Speculation continues that Netflix is pursuing an acquisition of STARZ from Liberty. This would certainly create a tremendous wave for HBO and Showtime (and their parents Time Warner and Viacom, respectively) on the one hand, and cable/satellite distributors on the other. The sticking point is likely to be how receptive John Malone’s Liberty would be to any stock component, given the huge run up of NFLX and the comments of major media figures (notable Jeff Bewkes) skepticism re Netflix getting content in the future as cheaply as it has in the past.
In a recent interview, Liberty CEO John Maffei addressed the issue by mentioning that Netflix had a higher market cap than DISH Networks -– a situation both he and DISH CEO Charlie Ergen found “odd”.