What AMC’s Streaming Troubles Say About the Greater TV Industry

Though AMC Networks doesn’t tell investors how much of its profit comes from traditional television, the media analyst firm MoffettNathanson has estimated that about 30 percent of the company’s roughly $3 billion in revenue last year came from fees paid by traditional TV distributors, including cable and satellite companies. About 12 percent came from the fast-growing streaming business, according to MoffettNathanson, with advertising, content licensing and other businesses making up the rest.

Traditional TV advertising is waning, too: In November, AMC Networks reported that its third-quarter U.S. advertising revenue was about $180 million, a drop of about 9.9 percent compared to the same period last year. It attributed the decline to a variety of factors, including lower ratings. AMC+, which costs $8.99 a month for a subscription, does not run ads.

Rich Greenfield, an analyst for LightShed Partners, estimated that AMC Networks had about 1,800 people working in its core business, which is waning.

“AMC Networks is the walking dead,” Mr. Greenfield said.

In some ways, AMC Networks is a holdover from an earlier media age. The U.S. media market was once populated with dozens of smaller companies like AMC Networks, which was founded as a joint venture among several TV companies during the cable boom of the 1980s. But as the cable business matured, deal-making became the surest path to growth, and rivals began swallowing one another.

AMC Networks responded with a different move. Rather than selling out to a big rival with a general-interest streaming service, AMC Networks struck deals to acquire smaller companies and started niche, targeted services. In 2014, the company introduced Sundance Now, a streaming service that now offers prestige dramas. The horror-focused Shudder came the next year. By 2021, AMC Networks executives were comparing the company’s services to boutiques in a world of department stores.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/18/business/media/amc-networks-streaming-cable.html