‘Fear the Walking Dead,’ ‘Killing Eve’ and other AMC shows to run on Max streaming service
In an unusual move, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service Max is offering shows from cable network AMC for two months this fall.
Max announced Monday it will launch a “programming pop-up†from Sept. 1 through Oct. 30 that will offer 200 episodes of AMC programming.
The pop-up, called “AMC+ Picks on Max,†will include episodes of “Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire,†“Killing Eve,†“Dark Winds,†“Fear the Walking Dead†and four other series.
The move is an attempt by AMC to get its programs sampled by more consumers as cord-cutting is shrinking its traditional cable business and the growth of its own streaming services have stalled.
The two companies have no common ownership and have not partnered in the past.
AMC Networks, known for such hits as “Breaking Bad†and “The Walking Dead,†is a free-standing publicly held New York-based media company controlled by Charles Dolan and his family, which owns several cable networks.
In a statement, Dan McDermott, president of entertainment, AMC Studios and AMC Networks, described the move as a promotional arrangement.
“AMC Networks makes great shows, and our goal is to bring these shows to as many people as possible, in ways that best serve viewers,†McDermott said.
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AMC Networks has several subscription streaming services of its own, but it‘s still largely dependent on its traditional cable channels, which include AMC, BBC America and IFC. Like the rest of the cable business, AMC is under pressure as consumers are dropping their pay TV subscriptions in favor of streaming services.
While AMC Networks has touted its own streaming business — it owns AMC+, Shudder, ALLBLK and Acorn — it’s a minor player compared with WBD’s Max, and is losing viewers. AMC reported having 11 million streaming subscribers at the end of June, down from 11.8 million at the end of 2022.
WBD says it has around 96 million subscriptions across its services Max, HBO and Discovery+.
Max was recently relaunched, combining the content from streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ under the shortened moniker.
The name change was part of Chief Executive David Zaslav’s efforts to broaden the audience for the company’s 3-year-old online video service.
AMC was one of the early beneficiaries of streaming on Netflix, as it saw a TV ratings lift for “Breaking Bad†when early seasons of the series showed up on the service while new episodes continued to air on the network. The company is hoping it can replicate that formula by offering the first season of its western “Dark Winds†on Max and generate interest in the second season currently on AMC.
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