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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.

5 of 40 comments (clear)

  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.

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      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    2. 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. 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.

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    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  3. "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?"