Kristin Dolan, who became CEO of AMC Networks earlier this year, said the company is “very well positioned” to weather the WGA strike.
In announcing first-quarter results, Dolan said AMC Networks is “in good shape for this year and next, so we don’t have any real concerns about the writers’ strike at this point.”
Guild members officially began striking a week ago, and early indications are that the work freeze could last for months. The impact has spread across the TV landscape, with late-night shows going dark and other production gradually being halted. Media CEOs took the spotlight during the quarterly reporting season, with Paramount’s Bob Bakish and Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav making headlines with their respective attitudes.
Significant layoffs were made at AMC Networks, with 20% downsizing by the end of 2022. On the programming front, the company spends about $1 billion annually on shows like Mayfair Witches from the Anne Rice universe and new spin-offs from The Walking Dead franchise.
The company relies on advertising revenue for both linear television and streaming. While overall numbers were strong for the quarter, ad revenue fell 20%. The company attributed the drop to “expected linear rating declines, softness in the advertising market and fewer original program episodes.”
Streaming, particularly the niche focus of the company’s portfolio and outlets such as Shudder and AcornTV, has been an increasingly important strategic objective. The company lost 300,000 subscribers in the quarter and settled at 11.5 million. It previously set a goal of 20 million to 25 million streaming subscribers by 2025, suggesting that streaming will soon overtake traditional linear TV as a revenue stream.