‘Outlander’ Actors Rally Fans To Stop Optimum From Dropping Starz

Some “Outlander” fans in the New York and New Jersey area might not be able to watch “Outlander” Season 4 next year. The cable provider Optimum and premium channel have not worked out a new deal for 2018 yet.

Optimum’s parent company Altice has been in negotiations with Starz, but their deal is set to expire at midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to TheWrap. “Altice is demanding a totally unreasonable agreement unlike anything that has previously existed in our 20-year partnership,” Starz said.

Meanwhile, Altice says that Starz’s streaming service, which can be purchased without a cable provider, and their “outrageous increases in programming costs” have made negotiations difficult.

Starz placed ads in the New York Times and New York Post on Saturday to warn readers about a potential Starz blackout. They’ve also set up a website, KeepStarz.com, to encourage fans to let Optimum know they want Starz to stick around.

“Outlander” stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan both retweeted producers who tweeted about the Keep Starz campaign. Showrunner Ronald D. Moore and executive producer Maril Davis warned New York and New Jersey fans that they could lose the network. Diana Gabaldon, who penned the bestselling books that the show is based on, added a retweet as well.

Starz’s website tells fans to contact Optimum. They have options for Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and even live chatting with a representative from the cable company. However, they recommend calling as the best option to voice their concerns.

According to TVSeriesFinale, “Outlander” ratings are up nearly 39% this season, making it the second most-watched Starz series. “Power,” which averaged over 1.7 million viewers in 2017, is the network’s top series. The premium cable channel certainly doesn’t want to lose viewers as it could affect those ratings.

Altice has gone down to the wire in negotiations with other networks. Deadline reports that Optimum customers feared losing ABC and ESPN in October when a deal with Disney wasn’t made until the last minute.

It isn’t just Starz that subscribers would lose if a deal is not made. Altice is negotiating a carriage deal, which includes 17 different Starz, Starz Encore and MoviePlex premium channels.

Even if a deal is made, it will still be a while before fans see new “Outlander” episodes. The time travel drama, which follows a World War II nurse who ends up in 18th century Scotland, just finished Season 3, and Moore has hinted that Season 4 likely won’t premiere until next fall.