NEW YORK—AMC Networks has announced an October launch for the ad-supported version of its streaming service AMC+ along with Q1 2023 financial results that showed its streaming subscribers declined from 11.8 million in Q4, 2022 to 11.5 million in Q1, 2023.
Streaming revenue was, however, up 29% year over year, primarily driven by year-over-year streaming subscriber growth and 2022 price increases and streaming subscribers grew 22% from Q1 2022 to March 31, 2023.
In the Q1 2023 earnings call CEO Kristin Dolan stressed the company’s strategy of making “our content available across the entire distribution ecosystem.”
“As the models of content monetization continue to evolve, another advantage we have is a broad distribution footprint that spans linear television networks, our own digital and streaming platforms, and third-party CTV or fast platforms,” Dolan said. “With the addition of an ad-supported tier of our flagship AMC+ streaming service later this year, our entire distribution ecosystem will be ad-supported, providing us with important new opportunities to drive revenue and grow our business.”
Dolan declined to discuss pricing or content for the ad-supported tier, which was announced at the company’s upfronts, but said: “We're looking at an October launch for that tier. We see it as a great opportunity to continue to super serve and expand our audiences, give more choice to consumers, and obviously provide a more holistic and robust advertising solution for our current and future advertisers.”
Along with the mixed streaming results, AMC announced that advertising revenues decreased 20% to $161 million due to anticipated linear ratings declines, softness in the advertising market and fewer original programming episodes within the quarter, partly offset by digital and advanced advertising revenue growth.
