Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has been working on two deals related to its cable business. The telco has a partnership with Liberty Media’s (NSDQ: LINTA) Starz Entertainment to set up a subscription broadband programming channel. Reuters says that the service is similar to a broadband deal Verizon has with Vongo; but the Starz Play service is $5.99 per month compared to Vongo, which lets subscribers rent an unlimited amount of movies for $9.99 a month. A Starz rep further explained that “Starz Play is 100 percent the same on Vongo as it is on Starz Play.” It has 2,500 “total” video selections, of which 1,000 are movies with unlimited downloads on up to three devices. The only difference is that there is no pay-per-view on Starz Play because it’s just not needed, since Verizon offers that option through Movielink.

Separately, Multichannel News reports that Verizon is “ready, committed and eager” to begin rolling out its FiOS cable TV service throughout New York City. The announcement follows an agreement between Verizon and the city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. FiOS has one more hurdle before it can begin challenging Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and other providers, though. The city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee is set to vote on whether to approve the deployment of FiOS on May 27.

—SAI: While Starz will continue to give its subscribers the option of choosing Vongo, the deal with Verizon means that the Liberty cable net won’t be promoting it. Basically, a Liberty rep explains that the company would rather not spend any money on marketing Vongo as a separate service. What wasn’t said is that Liberty acknowledges that Vongo failed to effectively compete against the online rental services offered by Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) and iTunes.

• Citi Media: Dennis Strigl, President & COO, Verizon Communications: Limits On Faster FiOS Rollout
• Verizon’s FiOS a Growing Threat to Cable; AT&T Goes to Washington?