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AMC Plans Ad-Free Streaming Service (fortune.com)

Posted by msmash on from the more-streaming-options dept.

An anonymous reader shares a Fortune report: AMC Networks, whose shows include The Walking Dead, is planning to launch a commercial-free online video streaming service aimed at millennial TV subscribers, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters this week. Unlike standalone streaming options from Time Warner's HBO and from CBS, AMC's would be exclusively available to consumers who subscribe to a cable TV package. AMC is doing this, the sources said, as a way to support the traditional cable television industry at a time when many younger consumers are increasingly cutting the cord. AMC is discussing featuring digital-only spinoff shows of its existing programs like The Walking Dead and is considering pricing between $4.99 to $6.99 a month, according to the sources, who cautioned final details are still being worked out.

40 comments

  1. Volume by EricMaurer · · Score: 2

    I honestly wouldn't mind the commercials if they could just normalize the volume.

    1. Re:Volume by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 2

      You might - but If I pay for a service, it should be ad free. If it isn't, I'm not paying. And I'm not the only one out there with the same stance.

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    2. Re:Volume by sims+2 · · Score: 1

      I agree with the lemming.

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      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    3. Re:Volume by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Commercial volume is higher because they assume you're going to the bathroom or kitchen during the break, and want to MAKE SURE you hear them.

    4. Re:Volume by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 2

      Do they still do that? They started that just about the time when I stopped watching TV and moved to DVDs and alter streaming.

      It's pretty cool, I haven't seen a commercial... except maybe on TVs in restaurants in 16 years.

      Of course, I have no idea who AMC is and other than the occasional t-shirt, I have no clue about "The Walking Dead" which I imagine can exclude me from certain pop cultural references, But somehow I don't think this has been a problem for me.

      I think it's quite humorous that my kids have been raised since the age of 4 or 5 without TV and it doesn't seem to impact their standing in society at all. Once they moved to iPads and YouTube, they simply never looked back.

      My son recently said that he doesn't have much interest in TV shows or movies because they don't align with his viewing methods now. I can only imagine that this is more common that we'd think.

  2. Aww... by hackel · · Score: 1

    I almost feel sorry for them. This is like a religion-levels of self-delusion here. Why they cannot simply accept that their industry is dead is beyond me. I just hope they don't take all of their great productions down with them.

    1. Re:Aww... by EvilSS · · Score: 1

      I almost feel sorry for them. This is like a religion-levels of self-delusion here. Why they cannot simply accept that their industry is dead is beyond me. I just hope they don't take all of their great productions down with them.

      Because thanks to Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead they think they are a high-demand channel and they have been jacking up their carriage fees year over year. Now they are afraid of tipping over their cash cow. Problem is 2 of those shows are now history and the third is wearing thin with viewers. Compounding that is the fact that none of their new shows have been big hits. Hanging on to the cable model insures that they keep getting all that revenue a little while longer. If they go OTT (Over The Top) with a digital only service they risk losing some of that cable money, and possibly not being able to replace it since they would lose a good chunk of those OTT viewers when The Walking Dead ends (or gets so unbearable that people just stop watching).

      --
      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
    2. Re:Aww... by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

      Oh, they have a shark or two they can jump...

      Walking Walter!
      Our heroic friends are in big trouble when their worst fears come to life in the form of a Walter White no longer constrained by a hazmat suit! Not only are the zombies faster, they now randomly disassemble formerly useful items, leaving piles of useless parts behind...

      Can these "speed walkers" be stopped? Will the accidental discovery that the sound of a tattoo gun renders them motionless be enough to save our friends? Tune in to our exclusive new channel and find out!

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    3. Re:Aww... by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Because thanks to Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead they think they are a high-demand channel and they have been jacking up their carriage fees year over year. Now they are afraid of tipping over their cash cow. Problem is 2 of those shows are now history and the third is wearing thin with viewers. Compounding that is the fact that none of their new shows have been big hits

      So far Better Call Saul is very highly regarded, and it seems pretty good. But yeah, outside of that...

  3. Rambler by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    I don't know why anyone would want to buy a streaming service from the company that brought us the Gremlin and the Pacer.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Rambler by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I don't know why anyone would want to buy a streaming service from the company that brought us the Gremlin and the Pacer.

      Don't knock pacers, they are great for those with heart problems.

  4. The more things change... by kwerle · · Score: 1

    The more I love dvd.netflix.com. The streaming service continues to be semi-lame (never seems to have what I want). And the ratings and general listing UI has done nothing but get worse for the past 10 years. But queuing up a dvd and have it arrive in a couple of days is solid. And cheap.

    1. Re:The more things change... by sims+2 · · Score: 1

      Does it have the full dvd complete with unskippable preroll ads and warnings or is it a stripped down copy with just the movie?

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    2. Re:The more things change... by kwerle · · Score: 1

      It varies by release and all that. But if something pisses me off too much I rip it and do what I want. Doesn't happen often.

    3. Re:The more things change... by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Does it have the full dvd complete with unskippable preroll ads and warnings or is it a stripped down copy with just the movie?

      Unfortunately they often have stripped down versions (no extras), but stripped down doesn't mean it doesn't have preroll ads and warnings. They'll always find room for those.

      That said, I can't remember the last time I got a dvd/bluray with unskippable ads. At the very least, I can fast-forward super-fast so they're a blip.

  5. Nothing is changing by jediborg · · Score: 1

    "AMC's would be exclusively available to consumers who subscribe to a cable TV package"

    We already have this kind of arrangement for HBO, Showtime, and basically every other station. We millennials don't want to waste money on cable bills like our parents did. Either sell your shows online or don't. But don't pretend that streaming your shows online for people who already have cable accounts and can already watch your shows on cable is doing anything new. This is not going to make you more money. You will continue to lose money to pirates until you finally just sell your friggin product online for a price.

    $5 a month or $.99 an episode is my price. Offer that and I (along with millions of others) will pay. Otherwise i won't.

    1. Re:Nothing is changing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait, didn't AMC start out as a free cable channel? Why yes, yes it did Anonymous Coward, then it showed old movies, heavy on the westerns. Used to be when you paid for cable you were paying for commercial-free channels.

    2. Re:Nothing is changing by EvilSS · · Score: 1

      "AMC's would be exclusively available to consumers who subscribe to a cable TV package" We already have this kind of arrangement for HBO, Showtime, and basically every other station. We millennials don't want to waste money on cable bills like our parents did. Either sell your shows online or don't. But don't pretend that streaming your shows online for people who already have cable accounts and can already watch your shows on cable is doing anything new. This is not going to make you more money. You will continue to lose money to pirates until you finally just sell your friggin product online for a price. $5 a month or $.99 an episode is my price. Offer that and I (along with millions of others) will pay. Otherwise i won't.

      HBO and Showtime both have over-the-top digital only options that don't require any cable subscription. Not at your dictated price point, but they do have them. I sub to them for a couple months a year to catch up on shows then drop them until my backlog builds back up.

      --
      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
    3. Re:Nothing is changing by Baron_Yam · · Score: 1

      >$5 a month or $.99 an episode is my price. Offer that and I (along with millions of others) will pay. Otherwise i won't

      I think signing up with a streaming service for pay-per-view isn't a bad idea. Prepaid or just bill at the end of the month, and anything you rent you get full access for 30 days in case you decide to watch it twice or something. And probably some kind of threshold where if you go over then additional rentals are deeply discounted. ...And multiple tiers. C'mon... Are you going to pay a buck for something for a 30 minute show from the 1940s? Are you going to be willing to pay more for something longer, newer and with a bigger budget? One price for all isn't really a great idea.

      And then, for the all the rest of it, a monthly fee would get you unlimited access to the 'random file' (which hey, may as well include all that old back-catalog stuff you wouldn't pay a buck for).

      The nice thing about pay-per-view is you're no longer stuck signing up to just one service because they have the most shows you want. Sign up to a few, spread the love around. It's not that expensive for them to set up an account for you!

    4. Re:Nothing is changing by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 1

      Hey kid... I have told my wife that if I didn't love her so much, I would divorce her because I have to pay for her cable TV thing. And what's worse is that she never ever watches anything live, she always uses the PVR.

      What I don't understand is, why does she have to use the PVR? If the cable TV provider allows her to actually record TV shows on equipment she pays rent for... and probably most everything that they stream is being recorded by someone somewhere... shouldn't they just record the streams and let their viewers open up the catalog of TV shows and click which ones they want to watch?

      Oh... and we're not using actual cable, we're on fiber... and it's not GPON, it's IPTV. So, the fact is, it wouldn't cost them that much in bandwidth. I know their network design (been involved) and it would cost them nothing.

      So... why are we paying for streaming... or box rentals, etc...

    5. Re:Nothing is changing by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 1

      I watch about 10 hours of video a month... I might watch 20 if I find a TV show I want to binge on. Video sucks because you can't watch it and work at the same time... I prefer :

      audio books
          You can listen while doing pretty much every other type of work... and driving... and pretty much everywhere. On the rare occasions I have to go to Church for a wedding or confirmation or any of the other silly things church people invite me to participate in, audio books are my hero.

      braille books
          You can read while testing code, reading documents, sitting in meetings, etc... I've been working on making a phone sized braille display that doesn't make noise and also has touch input... for 10 years now... I'll get it done someday.

    6. Re:Nothing is changing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She watches the DVR because she can watch whenever she wants and can skip commercials. Maybe you should just ask her and stop making weird threats about divorcing your wife over a monthly bill. With comments like that, don't be surprised when your wife makes that choice for you. And you can still keep paying her cable bill through alimony after the divorce.

    7. Re:Nothing is changing by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Wait, didn't AMC start out as a free cable channel? Why yes, yes it did Anonymous Coward, then it showed old movies, heavy on the westerns.

      "Free" as in your cable subscription paid for it, as did commercials.

      Used to be when you paid for cable you were paying for commercial-free channels.

      I remember cable companies trying to hook us that way too, unfortunately it lasted all of a few months.

    8. Re:Nothing is changing by jediborg · · Score: 1

      do they REALLY!??? I would actually be interested, do you have a link?

    9. Re:Nothing is changing by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 1

      Well, in case you actually are reading the response... it's not a threat as much as a joke. She makes jokes in return about socks left on the floor. It's called humor. You should buy a book on the topic.

      Before you buy the book, consider also learning about how punctuation works. It will make the book far easier to understand when you do sit down to read it. Sasha Cohen did a great skit in the movie Borat about how punctuation effects jokes.

      The question is why she should have to use a PVR since there's absolutely no value in recording something which can be centrally recorded and then watched from a central location. She shouldn't have to record it to watch it whenever she wants without commercials.

      If you go back and read my previous post with this new insight, it will have an entirely new meaning.

      Let me ask something, on your planet (I'm assuming it's somewhere in or like Texas based on your behavior) are there people who would actually interpret "I have told my wife that if I didn't love her so much, I would divorce her because I have to pay for her cable TV thing." as a threat? Do the people there also believe strongly in their second amendment rights and exercise them? Do you see how this could be scary to some people?

      I wonder, how do people there deal with sarcasm? I can only imagine that people there start using terms like "libtard" because anyone who says something confusing must in fact be a liberal.

      Now, if you want a really good laugh, where I live there's no such thing as alimony. That's something that only exists in places where women are inferior to men and are incapable of taking care of themselves. Where I live, the women are much smarter than that. Hell, they even tend to pay for themselves on dates.

      P.S. She actually pays the cable bill. But, if I say told you that to begin with, it would add a second dimension to the required thought process to appreciate the joke. I can tell by the confusion the second part of my previous post caused you that this would just be cruel to inflict upon you.

      P.P.S. I put a great deal of effort into use small words with minimal syllable counts for you. I also made every effort to avoid excessive use of punctuation you may find confusing in this post. See, there are people who care about you.

      P.P.P.S. - P.S. means Post - Script. After you finish your punctuation lessons and humor education, I recommend looking up this term. It is very interesting and useful. It may however be too advanced at your current level.

  6. Re:APK makes ad-free internet 4 free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Too bad Google Chrome ignores the HOSTS file on Windows.

  7. Re:APK makes ad-free internet 4 free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like JOOgle fears "the Lord of Hosts"

  8. cable needed for web only? service? will sat by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    cable needed for web only? service? will sat viewers have this as real channel?

    But for that price there better be F bombs.

  9. Nope. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It seems AMC has a fundamental misunderstanding of why millennials get streaming services. Few are getting it to supplement their cable and many are getting it to replace their cable TV subscription. Also, $5 to $7 per month is quite excessive if you look at what you get for your money on Netflix.
    More than likely, they are going to start hire scumbags to harass people for downloading their shows which means people like me will just stop watching their programs altogether. They're going to actually do significantly more damage to their audience (which ultimately decreases the popularity of their programs among paying viewers) than they'll be getting in return for a paltry few subscribers.

    Small short-term gains and large long term losses. That seems to be how corporations operate nowadays.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  10. "We have a plan..." by Baron_Yam · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Cable: Take what we offer, more or less when we offer it (and we'll do our best to mess with any DVR you try to use), and pay through the nose for it. And then double or triple that to get some decent channels.

    Streaming: Take what you want from our entire catalog, whenever you want, for a fraction of a cable subscription. You need an Internet connection, but we don't really care how you connect.

    AMC: "Let's start a service that should replace cable television, but require subscribers to maintain their cable television subscription as well! What could possibly be stupid about that?"

  11. Who cares? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    Even as a European, I watch lots of AMC and I never saw any ads, ever! (I couldn't act on anything anyway)

    That's why I prefer torrents over paid content any day.

  12. Re: APK makes ad-free internet 4 free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    privoxy.

  13. Odd by sixsixtysix · · Score: 1

    Odd that they'd roll out this service and require a paid cable sub, when said AMC service already exists, at least on my Roku. Since cutting the cord and going with SlingTV, which has AMC and the last few eps on demand, the standalone app still offers 2 week old episodes for free with no sign-in.

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    ...
    1. Re:Odd by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

      Mod parent Informative.

      I didn't know this was available. It says AMC Roku's channel only became available last month too

      Good timing for me as I just watched Season 1 of Hap and Leonard on Netflix last week and now I can watch Season 2. (S2E1 air date 3/15/17)

      i would definitely pay for this a few months a year at least if it didn't require a cable subscription.

      eh, I didn't realize it but I could watch it at their website too. For some reason AMC's Roku app causes my old Roku 2XS to reboot after playing an episode for a couple of minutes. It's done it 4 times now. Netflix works just fine on the old hardware.

  14. Re:APK makes ad-free internet 4 free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

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  16. The REAL AMC by fnj · · Score: 1

    I remember when AMC was actually American Movie Classics. Before there was TCM.