Starz launches its own streaming service with offline viewing

The home of Blunt Talk, Outlander and Black Sails is copying HBO and Showtime by launching its own streaming service. Priced at $8.99 a month, Starz is letting its users watch the channel's original series and licensed movies on-demand. The big difference between Starz and rivals like HBO and Netflix is that this service will let users download and watch titles offline. That way, you'll be able to marathon the latest Disney movies like Age of Ultron and The Force Awakens on a long haul flight. In addition, if you already pay for Starz through your cable subscription and aren't ready to cut the cord yet, you'll be able to get free access to the app.

Starz may have some exciting movie titles in its roster, but it's hard to feel as if paying for yet another streaming service is worthwhile. After all, reducing the wasted cost of having to shell out for channels you never watch was one of the key points of cord cutting. Unfortunately, with each additional service that launches, cherrypicking your favorite channels is becoming less and less economical. For instance, if you wanted to sign up with the big seven platforms (including Netflix, HBO and Starz) you'd be spending close to $70 a month. That's not exactly a big saving when you can get an equivalent FiOS bundle for less than $80. Maybe it is our fate to always be spending for content that we'll never, ever, ever watch.