AMC’s Shudder offers extended trial to coronavirus ‘shut-ins’

Capitalising on the coronavirus, AMC’s horror streamer Shudder is offering a 30-day free trial to new customers.

Signing up with the code SHUTIN will extend the typical seven-day trial to a few month, with the streamer hoping that its grizzly offerings can help to distract from the pandemic.

The move was announced by the company on twitter: “Staying at home doesn’t have to be boring. Try Shudder for free for 30 days with promo code: SHUTIN #ShudderShutIn.” The account has subsequently been posting content suggestions using the #ShudderShutIn.

Shudder, available in the US, Canada, UK and Ireland, is solely focused on horror, thriller and supernatural fiction titles. Content ranges from cult classics like Halloween to harder-to-find indie horror films, while it has produced over a dozen original movies and series.

Despite the financial crisis ensuing as a result of the coronavirus, now is evidently a good time to be operating a streaming service. Netflix’s stock price has increased since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, while the launch of Disney+ in Europe has come at a time where the majority of the continent will be stuck indoors – albeit with potentially tightened pursestrings.

Nielsen has already estimated that users will stream more than ever during the pandemic, though that is likely to take a toll on ISPs.

EU internal market and services commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted that he had spoken to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings about ensuring an adequate amount of bandwidth is left available and urged users to “#SwitchToStandard definition when HD is not necessary.”