A slew of series from AMC Networks incl Fear of the Walking Dead, Spotting Witches And Eve was killed It will air on Max as part of an unusual digital arrangement.
AMC Networks and Warner Bros. Discovery has a “software pop-up” deal that will see more than 200 episodes of seven titles released on Max, formerly HBO Max.
Offers will be available from September 1 through October 31.
Available titles are seasons one through seven Fear of the Walking Deadthree seasons Discovery witchesFour seasons kill Eve, The first season of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampiretwo seasons of Gangs of London, season one of Dark Winds, and five seasons of Ride with Norman Reedus.
Offers will be available on both Ad-lite Max ad-free services at no additional cost. It will be part of AMC+ Picks on Max Rail on the service and will not include ads.
It is seen as an experiment for AMC Networks, which is keen to get more viewers to its shows in hopes that viewers will later sign up for AMC+.
It comes after David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, he believes that aggregation in broadcasting will become important in the future.
Speaking ahead of Max’s launch, Zaslav said he believes the industry needs to get to the point of repackaging and marketing products together.
“It seems very clear that if we want to group this great product that we have with others, we’ll get up tomorrow, and in every market, if we’re number one, or two, or three, if we’re marketing with number two or three at a specific price it would be Great for consumers. It probably reduces volatility. We will [all] Single product marketing. This will provide a meaningful experience for the consumer, he said at MoffettNathanson’s event in May.
“If we don’t do it ourselves, I think it will be done to us. It will be Amazon who does it, or Apple who does it, or Roku who does it. They’ve already started,” he added.
“AMC Networks makes great shows, and our goal is to bring those shows to as many people as possible, in ways that best serve our viewers,” said Dan McDermott, president of AMC Entertainment and Studios for AMC Networks. “This promotional arrangement with Warner Bros. Discovery is an amazing opportunity to bring some of our most popular and critically acclaimed programming to millions of Max subscribers in the US for a full two months.”
“Subscribers turn to Max to find a wide variety of stories for the whole family,” added Meredith Gertler, EVP of Global Content Strategy, Planning and Analysis. “The AMC+ pop-up is an excellent example of how we can use innovative strategies to add value to our content offering.”