Company type | Public |
---|---|
ISIN | US00164V1035 |
Industry | |
Predecessor | Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC (1980–2011) |
Founded |
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Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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Products |
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Brands |
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Revenue | US$2.71 billion (2023) |
US$388 million (2023) | |
US$215 million (2023) | |
Total assets | US$4.97 billion (2023) |
Total equity | US$1.07 billion (2023) |
Number of employees | 1,900 (2023) |
Divisions | AMC Networks International |
Subsidiaries |
|
Website | amcnetworks |
Footnotes /references [2] |
AMC Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company headquartered in 11 Penn Plaza, New York. [3]
The company owns and operates the eponymous cable channel and its siblings, IFC, We TV, and Sundance TV; the art house movie theater IFC Center in New York City; the independent film companies IFC Films and RLJE Films; the anime licensor Sentai Filmworks; the premium subscription streaming services AMC+, IFC Films Unlimited, Acorn TV, Allblk, Shudder, Sundance Now, Philo, and Hidive; and a minority interest in the leading Canadian production studio Shaftesbury Films.
The company operates in Europe and Latin America through its international division, AMC Networks International. Through joint ventures with BBC Studios, the company manages BBC America and BBC World News cable channels in the US. That relationship makes AMC Networks additionally maintain a minority share in the US operations of the British-TV streaming service BritBox, a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc.
The current incarnation of the company, founded as a publicly traded company in July 2011, is the successor to the now defunct Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC (or alternately Rainbow Programming Holdings), which was originally founded in 1980 as a subsidiary of Cablevision, and is majority-owned and controlled by the Dolan family. [4]
Rainbow Media, AMC Networks' predecessor company, was first founded in 1980 and was initially a joint venture between the cable television companies Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Daniels & Associates. The first service to come out of the partnership was launched on December 8, 1980. The hybrid service, which broadcast nightly on satellite time subleased from the National Christian Network featured culture events network Bravo on Sunday and Monday nights and adult-oriented B movie network Escapade the rest of the week. [5] Due to the involvement of the four cable companies, the new service quickly gained subscribers. By July 1981, both channels expanded their offerings to seven nights a week. [6] In August 1981, Playboy Enterprises became half-owner of Escapade which introduced a new programming block to the channel in early 1982. By the end of that year the network would relaunch as The Playboy Channel. [7] [8]
In the years that followed, the three other cable companies would exit the partnership, leaving Cablevision as the sole owner of Rainbow by 1983. Cablevision transferred control of its previously launched regional sports network SportsChannel New York to Rainbow. In 1983, three other regional sports networks were acquired: PRISM New England (soon to be relaunched as SportsChannel New England), Philadelphia-based PRISM, and Chicago-based SportsVision. [9] Playboy also bought out Rainbow's share in The Playboy Channel, although it would continue to market the channel for the next few years.
In 1984, Rainbow added another new network to its portfolio, American Movie Classics (AMC) which initially featured "classic" pre-1970 movies. Cablevision began packaging AMC and Bravo together as the Rainbow Service. Near the end of 1984, CBS and Cablevision announced a deal to have CBS take 50% ownership in the Rainbow Service and Rainbow's marketing. The agreement also gave CBS partial ownership in the regional sports properties which had already become a joint venture with The Washington Post (the Post did not have ownership in Bravo or AMC). [9] In 1986, Tele-Communications Inc. purchased a stake in AMC. Through this deal, the network which had 300,000 subscribers was able to greatly expand carriage to most of TCI's 3.9 million subscribers. [10] Long Island cable news service News 12 was also launched in 1986.
CBS and Cablevision parted ways in 1987. In 1988, Rainbow's SportsChannel would make its largest programing deal, gaining national television rights for the National Hockey League. [11] Cablevision gained a new partner that year, NBC, which obtained 50% ownership in Rainbow. [12] Through this partnership, five additional regional sports networks were created in the Bay Area, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. The partnership also produced the Olympics Triplecast, a pay-per-view service providing additional coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics.
1994 saw the launch of an American feed of the Canadian music channel MuchMusic USA, in partnership with CHUM Limited (who would launch a Canadian version of Bravo the year after), and the Independent Film Channel. [13] . Years later would CHUM sell their stake to Rainbow in 2000 and revoked their license for the MuchMusic name, which culminated into a rebrand as Fuse in 2003. Fuse became a part of MSG Media in 2010, and has since been spun off as Fuse Media.
In 1997, Romance Classics (later WE), a channel that had been in planning for over five year and had its launch date pushed back multiple times was finally launched. But Rainbow's largest venture that year was the merger of SportsChannel into Fox Sports Net. Rainbow retained varying ownership interests in all of the former SportsChannel networks except PRISM and SportsChannel Philadelphia, which were both shut down to make way for the first Comcast SportsNet. Over the next decade, all of these networks except SportsChannel NY (then Fox Sports New York) were gradually sold off. Fox Sports New York was then transferred to the MSG Media division and rebranded MSG+. [14]
Rainbow ran the local-minded MSG Metro Channels which launched in 1998, before folding them in late 2005.[ citation needed ]
Through a series of transactions, beginning in 1997, NBC's stake was eventually reduced. [15] In 2002, Cablevision sold its share of Bravo to NBC and as part of the deal, NBC gave up its then 20% share in Rainbow.
2003 saw Rainbow DBS Company launch a DBS satellite service, the HDTV-oriented Voom. The service ceased operations on April 30, 2005, and instead several of Voom's HD channels were launched on Dish Network and Cablevision, now bannered as Voom HD Networks. The networks were discontinued in 2009.
In 2005, Cablevision considered spinning off its content subsidiary Rainbow Media as a publicly traded company, and making their core cable business private, but withdrew the plan. In 2006, a new plan emerged to privatize all of Cablevision, including Rainbow Media. In January 2007, with no word on if the privatization would go through, Liberty Media expressed interest in acquiring Rainbow Media from Cablevision. [16] In June 2008, Rainbow acquired the Sundance Channel from NBCUniversal, CBS, and Robert Redford. [17] Rainbow Media also owned Wedding Central which was shut down the same day AMC Networks went public. [18]
On March 10, 2011, Rainbow Media's parent company, Cablevision, as approved by its board on December 16, 2010, announced that it would be spinning off all of Rainbow Media's assets into a new publicly traded company, AMC Networks, which would become the successor to Rainbow Media later in 2011, and, as said in 2005, making their core cable business private. Rainbow Media's former President Josh Sapan serves as the president and chief executive of the newly established AMC Networks [19] which went public on July 1, 2011. [20]
On May 4, 2012, Dish Network announced that it would no longer carry the AMC Networks family of cable channels upon the expiration of the satellite provider's distribution agreement with the company at the end of June 2012, citing that AMC Networks charged an excessive amount in retransmission consent payments from the service for their carriage and low audience viewership for the channels. [21]
AMC Networks responded to Dish Network's announcement of its pending removal of the channels as being related to a 2008 breach of contract lawsuit against Dish Network by the company's former Voom HD Networks subsidiary (under the company's previous Rainbow Media Holdings brand) (which is pending trial in the New York State Supreme Court), in which it is seeking more than $2.5 billion in damages against Dish Network for improperly terminating its carriage contract; Voom's high-definition channels were carried on the provider from May 1, 2005, until May 12, 2008, when Dish removed ten of Voom's fifteen channels from its lineup and the five remaining channels the following day. Dish Network stated that the lawsuit is unrelated to the decision to remove the AMC Networks channels and that it ended the carriage agreement on its own terms. [21]
On May 20, 2012, Dish Network removed Sundance Channel from its channel lineup. Two weeks later on June 4, 2012, Dish relocated AMC, WEtv, and IFC to higher channel positions with AMC being split into two separate standard definition and high definition channel feeds (AMC moved from channel 130 to channel 9609 for the SD feed and 9610 for the HD feed, WEtv moved from channel 128 to channel 9608 and IFC was moved from channel 393 to channel 9607); the former channel lineup spaces occupied by the three channels were respectively replaced with HDNet, Style and MoviePlex multiplex channel Indieplex. The move is believed to be in response to an ad run during a June 3 airing of an episode of Mad Men urging Dish Network customers to inform the company to keep the three AMC Networks channels on the satellite provider, with Dish Network stating that the relocated channel positions better reflect the channels' ratings. [22]
On July 1, 2012, Dish Network dropped AMC, WEtv, and IFC from the channel line-up altogether.
On July 12, 2012, AMC said in an e-mailed statement that it would stream over the Internet the season premiere of Breaking Bad to Dish customers. [23] "Dish subscribers can register online starting July 13 for the show, which airs on July 15. We want to give Dish customers an extra week to switch providers so they can enjoy the rest of the season." [24]
On October 21, 2012, AMC Networks announced a settlement was reached between them, Cablevision and Dish in which Dish was forced to pay up to $700 million in damages to Cablevision for damages from removing Voom owned channels off the Dish lineup back in 2008, and in return Dish signed a new agreement to bring the AMC Networks owned channels back on the Dish lineup with AMC returning October 21 and the rest on November 1. [25] [26]
From 2013 to 2015, the company acquired or joined a joint venture each year. On October 28, 2013, AMC Networks announced it would acquire most of Chellomedia, sans Chello Benelux, an international operator of cable networks, from Liberty Global for around $1.04 billion. [27] On October 23, 2014, AMC confirmed it had purchased a 49.9% stake in BBC America, with BBC Studios retaining the remaining share of the network. [28] In 2015, AMC Networks, along with Upfront Ventures, Daher Capital, Northgate Ventures, invested a round of funding in the Latin YouTube network MiTú. [29] [30]
In 2016, AMC Networks finalized a partnership agreement with former BET founder Robert L. Johnson 's RLJ Company. According to the agreement, AMC will use its programming and distribution clout to benefit Acorn and UMC. Additionally, the RLJ-AMC partnership will allow for greater investment in content from African-American creatives, Johnson emphasized. The agreement called for AMC to provide RLJ with a $60 million loan on a seven-year term and $5 million on a one-year term. AMC has received warrants to purchase at least 20 million shares or the equivalent of 50.1% of the company. The time frame for exercising those warrants is open-ended, AMC said. [31]
On November 15, 2016, AMC acquired a minority stake in comedy video website and film and television production company Funny or Die, with plans to integrate it with IFC. [32]
On April 27, 2018, the company, as the owner of IFC, acquired a majority stake in comedy venue operator Levity Live. [33]
On July 30, 2018, AMC Networks reached a definitive agreement to acquire RLJ Entertainment where AMC would pay $59 million for the remaining RLJE shares not owned by AMC or Robert L. Johnson. [34] The transaction was approved by RLJ Entertainment's stockholders on October 31, and AMC Networks completed the acquisition on November 1. [35] RLJ Entertainment became a privately owned subsidiary of AMC Networks, with Johnson and his affiliates owning a 17% stake.
In 2019, AMC Networks and the New Zealand public broadcaster TVNZ entered into an agreement to jointly produce The Dead Lands , a Māori –theme supernatural series set in pre-contact New Zealand. The series was distributed by AMC's streaming service Shudder in the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland and by TVNZ On Demand in New Zealand. [36] [37]
In early 2020, the AMC Networks involved Switzer Group to lead the redesign of its tenth-floor headquarters at 11 Penn Plaza, New York. [38]
On May 13, 2020, AMC Networks announced it was acquiring the rights to Anne Rice's major literary works, including The Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches . [39]
In September 2020, executive chairman Charles Dolan retired from his position, moving to a chairman emeritus role. His son, James L. Dolan, was then named chairman of AMC Networks. [40]
On February 2, 2021, AMC Networks entered into a strategic partnership with Canadian production company Shaftesbury Films. AMC made an investment in the company, thus giving them access to the latter's slate and expanding their content and development capabilities in Canada. [41]
On January 5, 2022, AMC Networks acquired American anime company Sentai Holdings, which includes the distributor Sentai Filmworks, the Anime Network, and the HIDIVE streaming service. The acquisition came months after Sony's FUNimation (then a joint venture between its US-based Sony Pictures Television and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex units) acquired Crunchyroll from AT&T's WarnerMedia in August 2021. [42]
On March 1, 2022, AMC Networks announced the launch of its book publishing division, AMC Networks Publishing, and then announced that it would launch several more FAST channels a month later. [43] [44]
Throughout late 2022, the company had rapid changes in its leadership until Kristin Dolan was appointed CEO in early 2023. [45] [46] [47]
A list of AMC-branded FAST channels available on third-party streaming platforms.
On October 28, 2013, AMC Networks announced it would acquire most of Chellomedia, an international operator of cable networks, from Liberty Global for around $1.04 billion. The acquisition did not include Chello Benelux, owners of Film1 and Sport1. [27] On February 2, 2014, the transaction was completed. [49] What was formerly Chellomedia is now known as AMC Networks International and will allow AMC Networks to distribute its programming worldwide. [50]
On October 23, 2014, AMC confirmed it had purchased a 49.9% stake in BBC America, with BBC Studios retaining the remaining share of the network. [28] The joint venture will also give AMC, which itself distributes the BBC World News channel in the United States, operational control in BBC America, which will be managed as a stand-alone from AMC's other channels. [51] [52] [53]
AMC is an American basic cable television channel that first launched in 1984, and is the namesake flagship property of AMC Networks. Since 2002, the full name has been de-emphasized as a result of a major shift in its programming.
IFC is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks.
Altice USA, Inc., commonly known as Altice, is an American telecommunications provider with headquarters in New York City, owned by the Franco-Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi. The company delivers pay television, Internet access, telephone services, and original television content to approximately 4.9 million residential and business customers in 21 U.S. states. Altice USA is based at One Court Square in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. The company's operational center is located at Cablevision's former headquarters in Bethpage, Nassau County, New York, on Long Island. With its combined brands, Altice USA is the fourth-largest cable provider in the U.S., serving customers residing in the New York metropolitan area as well as in several Midwestern and Southern U.S. states.
IFC Films LLC is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its Sundance Selects label and genre films under its IFC Midnight label. It operates the IFC Center.
Sundance TV is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and, while it is an extension of Redford's non-profit Sundance Institute, the channel operates independently of both the Institute and the Sundance Film Festival.
IFC Center is an art house movie theater in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. Located at 323 Sixth Avenue at West 3rd Street, it was formerly the Waverly Theater, an art house movie theater. IFC Center is owned by AMC Networks, the entertainment company that owns the cable channels AMC, BBC America, IFC, We TV and Sundance TV and the offshoot film company IFC Films.
PRISM was an American regional premium cable television channel in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Launched in September 1976, PRISM was primarily distributed through area cable systems, although it was also available through a scrambled over-the-air signal on WWSG-TV from 1983 to 1985.
SportsChannel is the collective name for a former group of regional sports networks in the United States that was owned by Cablevision, which from 1988 until the group's demise, operated it as a joint venture with NBC.
IFC was a Canadian English language specialty channel. The channel was owned by Showcase Television, Inc., a subsidairy of Corus Entertainment known to broadcast independent films, documentaries, and television series.
MGM Networks was a subsidiary of AMC Networks International. They held AMC Networks International's interests in the MGM branded cable television, satellite television, other television channels and services that reached nearly 120 countries and territories.
AMC Networks International UK (EMEA), formerly Zone Vision, Zone Media, Chello Zone and AMC Networks International Zone (EMEA), is a British television media company founded in 1991 by Chris Wronski and owned by AMC Networks International as its EMEA hub that houses its asset interests in that region.
Voom HD Networks was a suite of 25 original high-definition television channels owned by AMC Networks. The channels were produced in Crystal Clear Hi-Definition with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and were the largest suite of HD channels in the world as part of a 15-year agreement between AMC Networks and Dish Network.
MSG Sportsnet is an American regional sports network owned by Sphere Entertainment; it operates as a sister channel to MSG Network. The network serves the New York City metropolitan area, whose reach expands to cover the entire state of New York, Northern New Jersey, Southwestern Connecticut and Northeastern Pennsylvania; MSG Sportsnet carries sports events from several of the New York area's professional sports franchises, as well as college sports events.
Charles Francis Dolan is an American billionaire businessman, best known as founder of Cablevision and HBO. Today, Dolan controls Madison Square Garden Sports, MSG Networks, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, Madison Square Garden, Sphere, Radio City Music Hall, BBC America and AMC Networks. As of October 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$5.6 billion.
Film1 Sundance was a Dutch premium television channel. It was the Dutch version of the American cable television network SundanceTV devoted to airing independent feature films, world cinema, documentaries, short films, television series, and original programs, such as news about the latest developments from each year's Sundance Film Festival.
Dish Network has been the subject of a number of criticisms relating to management of advertising, disclosure of fees, telemarketing, employee rights and programming disputes; a number of which resulted in lawsuits. In the early 2000s, Dish Network received criticism regarding controversial technology and carriage disputes with programming providers. Most notably, when the Hopper digital video recorder provided an easy way for viewers to watch certain programming without commercials, major networks sued Dish Network.
Josh Sapan is a media executive who served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of AMC Networks, as well as the Executive Vice Chairman.
Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its existence and in its final years, Cablevision exclusively served customers residing in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and a small part of Pennsylvania. However, at one time it provided service in as many as 19 states. Cablevision also offered high-speed Internet connections, digital cable, and VoIP phone service through its Optimum brand name. Cablevision also offered a WiFi-only mobile phone service dubbed Freewheel.
AMC+ is an American subscription video on demand streaming service owned by AMC Networks that was launched on June 11, 2020. The service is a premium bundle that includes the live feeds and program libraries of the company's television networks and streaming brands along with its own exclusive content.
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