Today, The Hollywood Reporter announced that AMC Networks has inked a deal with Netflix to bring its shows exclusively to the instant streaming provider. The deal, worth an undisclosed amount, will bring programs to Netflix from the AMC Networks family: AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, and WEtv. According to the terms of the deal, AMC sees this relationship with Netflix as a type of syndication deal. Instead of selling their programs to other networks so they can air repeats, the shows will be made available to Netflix just prior to the debut of the next season, meaning viewers can watch a show about one year after the previous season aired. This means the first season of ‘The Walking Dead’ is available now to watch online.
AMC’s deal with Netflix makes sense. AMC gets revenue, which the network needs. Recently, the network has had public disagreements about budgets with the creators of ‘Mad Men’, ‘Breaking Bad’, and ‘The Walking Dead’. This new revenue stream might help shows like ‘The Walking Dead ‘stay on AMC for multiple seasons.
Netflix benefits as well. The site gets much needed content. As we reported last month, Starz and Netflix could not reach an agreement, so Starz pulled its content from the Netflix site. With the loss of many movies, including films from Sony and Disney, Netflix has been working to fill the void.
Over the past few months, Netflix has become the home to many quality TV programs such as ‘Charmed’, ‘Torchwood’, ‘Warehouse 13’, ‘Eureka’, ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’, ‘Star Trek: Voyager’, ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, and the original ‘Star Trek’. By building its catalogue with programs that have a loyal fan base, Netflix has managed to keep its current subscribers happy while possibly attracting new ones. With the loss of revenue slowed, Netflix can now focus on building its film library back up. In the meantime, many of us can catch up on the first season of ‘The Walking Dead’ before the second season premieres October 16 on AMC.
