AMC Networks is rolling out cheaper, ad-supported tiers for all of its niche streaming services after putting ads on its flagship AMC+ bundle late last year.The new versions will all be up and running by the end of the 2024-25 upfront, the company said Monday. It will convene its annual upfront presentation to ad buyers on Wednesday night in New York.Subscribers to AMC+ opting for the ad tier also get ad-supported versions of Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited. But subscribers to those services outside the bundle have not previously had the option of a lower-priced version with sponsored breaks. In the planned rollout, ads will come to the individual services as well as AcornTV, HIDIVE and ALLBLK, which are not currently part of AMC+.The aim of the expansion in streaming is to give advertisers options alongside linear TV and FAST channels. Like many pay-TV programmers, AMC Networks has been making several strategic moves to respond to declines in traditional linear TV subscribers driven by cord-cutting. Last February, it reported a 23% decline in fourth-quarter advertising revenue compared with the same period in 2022.Kim Kelleher, chief commercial officer of AMC Networks, called last year’s launch of an ad tier on AMC+ “a major step in creating a fully end-to-end ad-supported distribution ecosystem across linear, streaming and CTV/FAST.”In addition to the streaming news, the company also said it is expanding Audience+, the advanced insights and data targeting platform it introduced last year in an industry milestone. It said more than 70% of its linear distribution now features addressable ad technology, which allows for significantly more precise targeting than via traditional Nielsen gender and age demographics.AMC Networks also announced a handful of new shows joining the development slate at its Content Room branded content studio. Among the new titles are a second season of In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin as well as The Walking Dogs, which spotlights the many cast members of The Walking Dead franchise who are dog lovers. The Content Room also said it will hold a year-long programming initiative, The Joy of Horror, and named multihyphenate Josh Ruben as the company’s “Ambassador of Horror.”
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