Last week the Starz entertainment network (NASDAQ: STRZA and STRZB) announced its fourth quarter results for 2015. Sales were relatively flat for the quarter, but profits took a big hit as programming expenses rose, reports Motley Fool. Here are other highlights for the period ended December 31, 2015:

• Starz subscriptions rose 300,000 during the fourth quarter and 500,000 for the full year.
• Starz subscriptions are at an all-time high of 23.6 million, while Encore subscriptions are down to 32.2 million. Overall, subscriptions are down 2% compared to 2014.
• Starz completed the year with 76 episodes of Starz original programming.
• The network received six Golden Globe nominations for its original series “Outlander,” “Flesh and Bone” and “Blunt Talk.”
• Revenue for the full year was $1.7 billion, a 2% increase over 2014 year-end revenue of $1.66 billion in 2014. Total programming expenses for the year were $655.7 million.
• Revenue for the quarter was $427.6 million, a 0.5% increase. Total programming expenses for the quarter were $196.2 million.
• Net income for the full year was $236.5 million, compared to $269.0 million for 2014, a 12% decrease.
• The company bought back $98.5 million of common stock since its last earnings release, and it authorized an additional $400.0 million for share repurchasing.

Starz Chief Executive Officer Chris Albrecht commented on the results in a press release:

“In 2015, Starz demonstrated the strength of its core subscription business and made meaningful progress on the strategy of building a strong slate of original programming focused on targeting diverse and underserved audiences. We expanded distribution of our content, with the recent successful launch of STARZ on Amazon and there is more to come in the future. We are very excited to be nearing completion of a new STARZ app that will allow distributors to bring the STARZ experience directly to more consumers.”

During 2015, Starz formed several partnerships that have contributed to their increase in subscription numbers. The company partnered with Amazon to offer Starz through the Amazon Prime portal. Also, T-Mobile added free, unlimited Starz streaming for Starz subscribers on mobile device. The company also invested in three new original series to better serve Latino audiences which could help Starz maintain the subscription momentum it gained in 2015.

Insider Take:

As the over-the-top (OTT) TV market grows, Starz will need to continue to provide original and unique programming to differentiate itself from competitors like Netflix. The company has goals to increase its number of original episodes per year to 80 to 90. With 76 episodes last year, it looks like Starz is well on its way to achieving that, as well as reaching out to underserved audiences like the Latino market.

In 2016, Starz will be releasing a new app that will allow distributors to share Starz directly with customers versus going through traditional cable channels. This app could help Starz grow its subscriber base on its main network Starz and help with subscriber retention of Encore who has lost subscribers during the past year.