Comcast was planning to drop Starz from its main bundle of channels at the end of the year, according to a report by The Information in August. Starz had said in October it was trying to reach an agreement with Comcast.
Comcast and Lions Gate have been contacted by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of an informal inquiry into both companies' contract negotiations, CNBC had reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter.
The companies also signed a new content deal allowing NBCUniversal to lisense content from Lions Gate for its upcoming advertising-supported streaming service, Peacock.
Comcast will be the latest streaming service provider in an industry occupied by tech and media giants Netflix Inc, Apple Inc and Walt Disney Co.
Lions Gate had offered to sell Starz to CBS Corp for $5.5 billion, Reuters had reported in May, before CBS' merger with Viacom Inc.
(Reporting by Ambhini Aishwarya in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
