Monetisation of content ‘in disarray’ says AMC Networks chairman

AMC Networks is the latest company to fall victim to this year’s correction in the global SVOD business. On the same day that CEO Christina Spade stepped down after just three months in the job, chairman James Dolan announced “significant cutbacks”.

James Dolan

With Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger having already raised concerns about the current economics of direct to consumer services, Dolan said “the mechanisms for the monetisation of content are in disarray”.

Dolan made his announcement about cutbacks in a memo to staff. Explaining the context, he said: “Our industry has been under pressure from growing subscriber losses. This is primarily due to ‘cord cutting’. At the same time, we have seen the rise of direct to consumer streaming apps including our own AMC+. It was our belief that cord cutting losses would be offset by gains in streaming. This has not been the case.”

For this reason, the AMC board has concluded that we “need to conserve our resources at this time,” said Dolan. “We have directed the executive leadership of AMC Networks to undergo significant cutbacks in operations. These will include a large-scale layoff as well as cuts to every operating area of AMC Networks.”

Dolan’s announcement may explain why AMCN SVOD platform Acorn TV abruptly stopped streaming into South Africa this week. The question now is whether the company will seek to retrench its family of streaming service across other markets.