The premium family of AMC Networks is expanding its relationship with the Roku Channel. The companies have announced that the free ad-supported TV (FAST) service has added 11 new channels from the AMC Networks in a multiyear agreement.
The announcement did not include details about all of the 11 new channels coming to the Roku Channel, but it did highlight a new “AMC Showcase” channel. AMC Showcase will spotlight many of AMC’s most well-known dramas, including “Mad Men.”
Mad Men
Set in 1960-1970 New York, this sexy, stylized and provocative drama follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising.
“This is an exciting expansion of our relationship with one of our most important and long-term partners, which will make even more of our acclaimed and popular programming available to The Roku Channel’s audience including, for the first time, the addition of 11 of our curated FAST channels,” said Kim Kelleher, chief commercial officer of AMC Networks.
“It also serves our strategic goal of distributing and windowing our high-quality content across a coordinated ecosystem that includes our own networks and streaming services and leading partner platforms. We are thrilled to be in business with Roku and to have expanded this key partner relationship for years to come,” Kelleher added.
The new FAST channels will certainly have a large customer base on the Roku Channel. Roku announced in its quarterly earnings call that during Q3, users streamed 21.9 billion hours of content, an increase of 1.1 billion over the previous quarter. The service added 2.3 million “incremental active accounts” in Q3, bringing its global total to 65.4 million.
“The Roku Channel is thrilled to announce its expanded relationship with longtime partner AMC Networks,” said Rob Holmes, Vice President, Programming, Roku, “Every day, audiences come to The Roku Channel for easy access to a wide range of entertainment options. We are constantly working to enhance our programming portfolio to meet the needs of our users. Through this multi-faceted expansion of our partnership, we are pleased to provide our audiences with even more top content, plus exclusive programming, from AMC Networks, and look forward to connecting AMC Networks with viewers across The Roku Channel’s programming ecosystem.”
The agreement is just the latest example of AMC’s growing distribution range. The company recently agreed to terms with YouTube to offer content from AMC+ on the platform’s new “Primetime Channels” offering. AMC had nearly 11 million subscribers to its various streaming platforms in Q2, and the increased exposure to its content will only help those numbers increase.
Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is a free live TV streaming service that provides 350+ live linear streaming channels and more than 80,000 free movies and TV shows. The library contains entertainment from several different decades, including some major hits.