TV industry in midst of “reflection and correction” says AMCN content chief

AMC Networks’ president of entertainment and AMC Studios Dan McDermott told reporters on the TCA winter press tour that the company’s current round of restructuring will leave it “optimally positioned as a lean, progressive, forward facing organisation, poised to take advantage of the myriad opportunities in the marketplace.”

Dan McDermott

McDermott was responding to recent developments at AMCN which have seen the company axe several new shows and part company with CEO Christina Spade. He referred to the company’s cost-cutting as a “difficult but important process”.

AMC is one of several leading content companies to have axed shows abruptly in recent months as it becomes apparent that the SVOD streaming model is not delivering returns as quickly as expected. On this point, he said “our industry is experiencing an unrivaled period of reflection and correction. Factors including rising inflation, challenging ad market, too many shows, and an over reliance on streaming metrics that don’t necessarily deliver profitability, have caused most content companies, including ourselves, to take stock and recalibrate their forward path.”

The TCA tour has also given some indication as to how AMC plans to get itself back on track, with news that it is to create three new spin-off series from The Walking Dead. One of them will see the return of Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) in 2024.