AMC Networks’ Streaming Services See Exponential Growth as COVID-19 Forces Viewers to Stay Home
While the coronavirus pandemic has caused many businesses to shutdown, the streaming industry has seen a huge boom and AMC Networks is among companies that have seen a huge surge in subscriber growth for their SVOD services.
During their Q1 earnings report, the company revealed they expect to hit 3.5 million to 4.0 million paid subscribers across its Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and UMC streaming services by the end of 2020, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The benchmark comes “a full two years ahead of the company’s original target of year-end 2022,” as they have seen “‘strong’ growth over the past six to eight weeks.”
“We continue to make significant progress on our digital initiatives, including strong subscriber growth across our Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and UMC [Urban Movie Channel] SVOD services, as well as Acorn TV launching in the U.K.,” said CEO Josh Sapan. “Our portfolio of networks is delivering increased viewership in recent weeks, including a strong debut of the third season of ‘Killing Eve’ and strong performance for the most recent and exceptional season of ‘Better Call Saul.’”
On April 29, AMC Networks debuted Acorn TV in the UK. The service, which boasts over a million paid U.S. subscribers, brings world class dramas, mysteries and comedies from around the world to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The service costs £4.99 GPB per month or £49.99 per year and runs without advertising.
In addition to the Acorn original “Queens of Mystery,” the service will also have “Foyle’s War,” “Agatha Christie” as well as “Keeping Faith” available to stream at launch. The platform will add ITV drama “Girlfriends,” New Zealand detective drama “Harry,” ITV period drama “The Bletchley Circle,” Scandinavian crime drama “Black Widows,” BAFTA-award winning BBC drama “Accused” and many more later in April.