AMC Networks extolled some industry conventions – and much of its own library – at a lavish upfront presentation Wednesday night, while also positioning itself as a tech-enabled streaming player.
At a time when a range of upfronts and NewFronts players are either ditching in-person shows or scaling them back, the cable and streaming programmer stepped up at New York’s tony Spring Studios in Tribeca.
“This year, we wanted to go a little bigger, a little broader and a little more expansive in terms of the people in the room and the ongoing conversation,” CEO Kristin Dolan said. Along with ad buyers and CMOs, distribution partners and tech vendors were also in attendance.
“Every media company today is trying to find its own path in a world that looks vastly different than it did five years ago, or even five months ago,” Dolan said. “Our path is focused on the clear advantage we have in this moment and going forward: We make great shows.”
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Stars from a number of new and returning series, including Brooke Shields, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Alexandra Daddario and Janelle Monae, also were on hand. There were a few notable bits of news about various series, along with the customary sizzle reels.
Breakout talent included Frendo the Clown, the title character in upcoming slasher film Clown in a Cornfield, which had its world premiere last month at South By Southwest. As was the case at most of last year’s mid-May upfronts, a theatrical film (not traditionally an area of interest for Madison Avenue) found itself getting prominent billing at Spring Studios.
Clown will get a theatrical release May 9 via AMC Networks subsidiaries RLJ Entertainment and Shudder before migrating later to streaming on Shudder and AMC+.
Unlike more benign, all-ages titles like Wicked, though, this movie plug for advertisers came with a creepy stunt, as Frendo worked his way through the dark venue with a chainsaw. Dan McDermott, President of Entertainment and AMC Studios, borrowed from the movie’s marketing materials, warning, “The real fun begins when Frendo comes out to play.”
While upfronts are often tightly focused on the new, it was striking how frequently AMC Networks paused to honor its greatest hits. The company noted the upcoming 15th anniversary of The Walking Dead and the enduring popularity of Mad Men.
Evan Adlman, EVP of Commercial Sales & Revenue Operations, mentioned that Mad Men‘s series finale aired nearly a decade ago, in May 2015. Despite the passage of time, the show is a Top 5 series on streaming flagship AMC+, Adlman said, “with new episodes premiering for someone every hour of the day, every day. And these viewers, they’re just as engaged as ever. They’re even more valuable than they were before.” especially for brands making use of audience targeting tools.
While linear TV ratings are eroding across the industry, Adlman said streaming has given the company “the largest aggregated audience we’ve ever had,” across five linear networks, seven streaming outlets and 141 FAST channels.
Dark Winds, a newer AMC drama mainstay but one that figures to be a long-runner, also got significant stage time, though production for its fourth season in New Mexico kept cast and crew (except for Deanna Allison) from making it to New York. McDermott noted that its first three seasons have “the incredibly rare distinction” of all scoring a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. He then turned the stage over to Native American musician Mozart Gabriel, who delivered live accompaniment to a two-minute video montage.
Acorn TV, a streaming service that the company has owned since 2018, was similarly given a healthy amount of spotlight. In addition to briefly shouting out the new show starring and executive produced by Shields, the main objective seemed to be to drive home the fact that Acorn TV is in the portfolio.
Along with leaning on its library, the company remains committed to super-serving niche audiences. As Chief Commercial Officer Kim Kelleher reminded the audience, AMC Networks is “not ‘something for everyone,’ but we’re everything to someone.”
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