AMC Global Media Posts Mixed Q3, Previews ‘The Walking Dead’ AMC+ Bow

AMC Global Media missed Wall Street analysts’ revenue forecast for the third quarter, with the total of $566.1 million inching up less than 1% from the prior-year period.

Adjusted earnings of 44 cents per share, however, came in well ahead of expectations of a loss of 1 cent per share.

Company executives were asked on a conference call with analysts about the sale of the Allblk streaming service during the quarter. They affirmed the sale to Charles D. King’s Macro was a profitable transaction but did not offer specifics, though the earnings release noted a charge of $2.1 million in the quarter related to the transaction.

CEO Kristin Dolan said the company had been “quite diligent and careful” with programming expenses on Allblk but came to see that unscripted fare produced by cable network sibling WeTV was “driving most of the viewership.” When AMC Global Media then went on to launch streaming service All Reality in 2025, she reasoned, there was less strategic rationale to keep Allblk in the portfolio.

The earnings release noted a charge of $85 million during the quarter related to the settlement in September of a settlement of a lawsuit filed years ago over the series The Walking Dead. AMC Global agreed to pay $120 million to resolve the breach of contract claims by Robert Kirkman and other stakeholders in the flagship zombie series. The settlement came just prior to the scheduled start of a trial in the suit.

Looking to the future of TWD, Dolan said the company is looking forward to the debut of the franchise on AMC+ as part of a broader licensing deal with Netflix. Asked how the company will try to attract viewers to AMC+ as opposed to ceding them to Netflix, she said the series is “closely associated with AMC.” Along with the original show and its spinoffs, AMC+ will offer “a lot of extra content,” including behind-the-scenes and studio content filmed over the decade-plus since the original show’s debut. “There’s a lot with this series around multi-generational viewing and the post-apocalyptic view that is still featured on a lot of shows,” she said.

Content chief Dan McDermott didn’t offer any specifics but said AMC Global plans to continue the franchise “well into the future” as an active property.