AMC Networks, which operates cable channels like AMC, IFC, and Sundance TV and streaming services including AMC+, Shudder, and Acorn TV, reported a 10% decline in U.S. advertising revenue for the third quarter, totaling $133 million. The company also saw a 13% decrease in quarterly affiliate revenue to $164 million, attributed primarily to a drop in basic subscribers.
Notably, after two-quarters of decline, AMC Networks added approximately 200,000 streaming subscribers in the most recent quarter. This follows a return to subscriber growth in the third quarter of last year, bringing its total to 11.8 million as of September’s end, up from 11.6 million in June.
The company has been focusing on data-driven audience targeting for advertising, adapting to a shift in marketing budgets from traditional TV networks to the ad-supported tiers emerging on streaming platforms under CEO Kristin Dolan’s leadership.
CEO Kristin Dolan, said, “As we manage this business within a complex and changing environment, we remain focused on our key strategic pillars programming, partnerships and profitability. During the quarter, we made significant advancements across all three areas. We also entered into new and enhanced partnerships with major companies like Charter, Netflix, Amazon and others which are driving our company forward as we continue to provide distinctive, high-quality programming to customers across an expanding array of platforms.”
AMC Networks entered into a partnership with Netflix, in late August, making previous seasons of 15 AMC series available to U.S. Netflix subscribers for the coming year. However, when it comes to content licensing versus platform exclusivity, executives describe AMC+ as “primarily a catch-up service for the linear network,” with a focus on hosting new and current seasons.
Notably, the second season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is exclusively available on AMC+, and since season one premiered on Netflix, viewer acquisition related to the show on AMC+ has more than doubled. Similarly, since the first season of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire began streaming on Netflix, AMC+ acquisitions related to season two have increased nearly fourfold from pre-Netflix levels.
Kim Kelleher, chief commercial officer, said, “We’re increasingly focused on non-exclusive deals that allow us to monetize our content multiple times on multiple platforms, whether ours, or partners, and oftentimes both, we’re really but we do this very thoughtfully to ensure that we’re protecting the value of our content by retaining the premieres and the new seasons.”