Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch said the company has exited its output deal with Universal as it revisits content costs a year into its run as a standalone. “Today, we are announcing that we have exited our Pay 2 agreement with Universal. The Universal titles, which we originally planned to air through calendar 28, are incredibly popular and bring with them tremendous box office strength,” he said on a call after earnings, noting that due to high subscriber overlap between Amazon and Starz, “these titles are heavily watched before they come to us in the Pay 2 window.” Universal splits its pay-1 licensing deal between Amazon and Peacock. “This unique dynamic with Amazon has resulted in lower viewership than we originally projected. In order to replace the revenue component of the Pay 2, we will reinvest and acquire high-performing titles at superior economics. We are thankful to our partners at Universal for working with us to find a mutually beneficial solution,” Hirsch said.…