AMC Networks president-CEO Josh Sapan was upbeat about the company’s niche streamers.
On a Q2 investors earning call, he said horror streamer Shudder, Acorn TV, Sundance Now and Urban Movie Channel UMC) are “extraordinarily beneficial economically.” Also in the period, AMC Networks launched new SVOD bundles AMC+ and WE tv+, noted The Wrap.
Sapan singled out Shudder as doing “extraordinarily well.”
“What is uniquely attractive about targeted subscription services, which is somewhat less true of something-for-everyone, big SVOD services, is they are slightly less individual-show dependent,” he said. Sapan noted that while younger people may quit and re-subscribe to services, “super-niche” streamers like Acorn or Shudder remain fairly steady.
One key reason: These streamers “don’t create as much absolute, individual show or series dependency for a subscription. That is a genetic quality that I think is extraordinarily beneficial economically in the subscription world, because it means you’re not running high rates of churn.”
AMC Networks forecasts between 3.5 million-4 million paid subscribers between the four streamers by the end of this year.
Two examples of SVOD hits for the company: “Creepshow” on Shudder and “The Bureau” on Sundance Now.