AMC+, the company’s bundled streaming package that includes original series from AMC, SundanceTV and IFC, ad-free with early premieres on demand, is looking to expand its distribution.
Josh Reader, president of distribution and development for AMC Networks, said his company is always in discussions with distributors about AMC+. He said some new agreements have already been reached and that AMC Networks is in the process of implementing launch with those partners.
“Every partner has their own profile and has their own interests and priorities. We’ve really been able to tailor these conversations to the specific profiles and interests of our different distribution partners,” he said Wednesday during a keynote interview at The StreamTV Show.
AMC+ is available now via Apple TV Channels, Amazon Prime Video Channels, Comcast Xfinity, DirecTV, Dish, Roku, Sling TV and YouTube TV. Pricing varies for the service dependent on the platform. It’s $6.99/month on Comcast Xfinity but $8.99/month through Amazon Prime Video Channels.
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Reader said that one of the unique distribution features for AMC+ is that it still maintains a linear channel within the electronic programming guides (EPG) for partners like Comcast and Dish.
“A lot of customers still interact with that EPG. It would be tempting in some ways to say, ‘It’s a streaming product. We don’t need that linear channel,’” he said. “But we’ve found that linear channel has been a huge addition of customer value.”
AMC+ has been able to offer subscribers early access to series including “Fear the Walking Dead” and Reader said that, because of his company’s cozy relationship with traditional distributors, it was relatively easy to negotiate those programming terms.
“We were met with enthusiasm. Our distribution partners, the MVPDs, are participating in the upside from these products. What they’ve been looking for, for a long period of time, is how do they serve different customer preferences and how to they give customers that more premium experience even on the traditional cable or satellite platform,” he said.
AMC Networks last month confirmed that it’s still on track for more than 9 million subscribers by the end of 2021. That’s across AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and ALLBLK. The company also confirmed its longer-term guidance of 20 million to 25 million total subscribers by 2025.
Reader said even though the AMC+ bundle includes access to the company’s standalone streaming services like Shudder and Sundance Now, those services have continued to grow on their own alongside AMC+.