Shudder, AMC Networks’ horror streaming service, has over 1M subscribers

Tis the season for spooky shows and movies and Shudder, AMC Networks’ horror-focused streaming video service, has scared up a large audience.

Shudder announced today that it now has more than one million members. The streaming service said it saw a surge in usage and new memberships that began with the debut of its original series “Creepshow” last September and has continued throughout 2020.

“The addition of original series and movies turbocharged our growth and turned Shudder into a must-have service for anyone interested in great horror, thriller or supernatural entertainment,” said Miguel Penella, president of SVOD at AMC Networks, in a statement. “Our relentless focus on quality programming, innovative content and finding the best up-and-coming creators has enabled Shudder to break out in the crowded world of subscription services. Shudder’s success comes as our other targeted SVOD services—Acorn TV, Sundance Now and UMC—continue their strong subscriber growth momentum by super-serving passionate fans with the content they love the most.”

RELATED: AMC Networks launches Shudder SVOD in Australia, New Zealand

In August, Shudder debuted in Australia and New Zealand, further expanding its international reach which includes the U.S., Canada, Germany, the UK and Ireland. In the U.S., Shudder has recently launched on Roku Channels, Charter, Dish Network and Sling TV.

Shudder is the second of AMC Networks’ suite of SVOD services to surpass the one million subscriber milestone, following Acorn TV which reached that mark last September. Together, AMC Networks expects its SVOD services – which also include Sundance Now and UMC – to reach between 3.5 million and 4 million subscribers by year-end 2020.

AMC Networks last month announced its second-quarter results and said that it has made “particular progress during this COVID period with strong growth across our targeted SVOD services.”

“Shudder, in particular, has had very strong growth and the second quarter was the biggest in its history in terms of trials, paid subscribers and amount of time spent on the service by consumers,” said AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan during the company’s most recent earnings call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.