NEW YORK -- John Malone's Starz! broke out the champagne Tuesday when four of the five movies nominated for best picture in the Oscar race turned out to be films that will end up on its network next year: They're part of exclusive pay TV output deals.
Starz! has contracts with Miramax for "Chicago" and "Gangs of New York," New Line for "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and Universal Focus for "The Pianist." The fifth best picture nominee, "The Hours," goes to Showtime as part of its output arrangement with Paramount.
In overall numbers, Starz chalked up a total of 53 nominations compared with 24 for HBO and 11 for Showtime.
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