What Would Don Draper Say? AMC Offers Commercial-Free Version
June 29 2017 - 9:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
For fans of "The Walking Dead" who are tired of commercials
interrupting zombies chomping on human flesh, AMC has launched an
advertising-free version of its channel for the low, low price of
$4.99 a month.
The new service, dubbed AMC Premiere, will be available starting
Thursday as an add-on for Comcast Corp. cable subscribers. The
channel is primarily an on-demand service; however, subscribers
also will be able to watch new episodes of AMC shows when they
debut on the linear channel without commercials.
Charlie Collier, president of AMC, said the new service comes
after speaking to customers who have "a desire to go deeper and
have a different viewing experience."
Besides being able to catch up on current seasons of AMC's
original series and watch new episodes as they debut, there will
also be exclusive content on AMC Premiere as well as movies from
the network's library.
While $4.99 a month just to avoid commercials may sound steep,
Matt Strauss, Comcast's executive vice president and general
manager of video and entertainment services, notes that it's a
better deal than buying episodes of shows on an individual basis,
which can run $3 an episode.
"There's always a segment of viewers willing to part with money
for a more premium experience," Mr. Strauss said. Comcast is also
talking with other networks about creating similar platforms, he
said.
Such an arrangement is one way for Comcast to fight back against
cord-cutting and encourage cable subscribers to stick around and
not defect to an ad-free online video service. For AMC parent
company AMC Networks Inc., doubling-down with a traditional cable
distributor helps protect its lucrative affiliate fees, at a time
when the company's advertising revenue fell 6.2% in the first
quarter.
AMC's Mr. Collier didn't rule out offering full seasons of
current shows at once a la Netflix on AMC Premiere down the road.
"We want this platform to evolve to meet consumer needs," he
said.
The service could also serve as a test to an eventual
direct-to-consumer offering by AMC, he said, although there are no
such plans at the moment.
Unfortunately for consumers who subscribe to AMC Premiere, there
isn't a refund for the AMC standard channel.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 29, 2017 09:14 ET (13:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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