AMC, which last week broke its own year-old record by earning 23 Emmy Award nominations, is translating that critical success to its bottom line. The cable network, which for years ran nothing but movies and onlystarted carrying commercials in 2001, has done a remarkable job ofremaking itself.
But it hasn't been cheap. Rerunning "Cool Hand Luke" afew dozen times may cost only $300,000, but producing a season of "MadMen" and "Breaking Bad" is more like $30 million. The network isn't resting on its laurels. It has another pricey series-- the political thriller "Rubicon" -- in the works next summer and amini-series remake of "The Prisoner" for November.
AMC, owned by Cablevision Systems Corp.'s Rainbow Media, has already seen strong growth in ad revenue. Charlie Collier, president and general manager of AMC says the network's ad dollars have grown by 50% since 2006 when it first started its push into original programming. While Collierwouldn't cough up real numbers, industry research firm SNL Kagan saysAMC took in about $208 million in ad revenue last year, compared to$144 million in 2005.
The next challenge for AMC is to get distributors to pay more to carry the channel. According to Kagan, AMC gets about 23 cents per-subscriber from cable and satellite operators. That's a far cry from the more than 40 cents per-subscriber that FX and USA pull in.
AMC may have to get Don Draper of "Mad Men" out there to personally sell the network if it wants to play in that league. For starters, even though its shows are critical favorites and award winners, they do not get the ratings of shows such as "The Closer" on TNT, FX's "Rescue Me" and USA's "Burn Notice."
Furthermore, like most cable networks, AMC's deals with its distributors are staggered. In other words, they don't all come up at once. The plus side to that is if a network is struggling, it doesn't face of slew of cable and satellite operators looking to lower the price. The downside is if a network is hot, as is the case with AMC, a lot of distributors still have sweet deals.
AMC recently wrapped up long-term deals with cable giants Comcast and Cox that helped it boost its distribution fee and will soon start talking with satellite broadcaster DirecTV. Collier would only say that with success comes a "better position" and "better deals."
For Don Draper's sake, let's hope so.
-- Joe Flint
Photo credits: Top: Charlie Collier. Credit: AMC. Bottom: Jon Hamm as Don Draper. Credit: Associated Press
Question time, part 2: Help me out at San Diego Comic-Con
On Wednesday, I head west for San Diego Comic-Con. Come 6 p.m. that day, I'll be prowling the main floor, checking out the wares and also seeing how people in Ballroom 20 are responding to "V," "Human Target" and "Vampire Diaries," three shows that are screening their pilots that evening.
Of course, the main Comic-Con action takes place Thursday through Sunday. There are a ton of panels featuring comic-book artists, writers, directors, film actors and so forth, but obviously I'll be focusing on the TV panels that will be taking place.
You can follow my coverage on this site (I'll most likely be doing longer blog posts at night, and everything with the Comic-Con label will be collected here), and also on my Twitter feed, where I'll be posting frequent updates during the day. By the way, sister site Zap2it.com will be covering Comic-Con like crazy, be sure to check out that site for live team coverage of the San Diego madness.
So anyway, dear readers, I'd like to ask for your help. There will be press conferences and media events backstage, at which I might be able to ask questions. I've also been able to line up a couple of one-on-one interviews (I'm not going to say with whom, for fear of jinxing things).
If you have a question about the shows listed below, leave it in comments. I can't guarantee that I'll use your question, but you never know, I might. And it'll be helpful to know what fans of particular shows are most concerned about and interested in.
A special shout-out to "Supernatural" fans: I'll be moderating that show's Comic-Con panel on Sunday. So please spread the word in the "Supernatural" fandom that I'm taking questions for Eric Kripke, Sera Gamble, Ben Edlund, Misha Collins and Jim Beaver. Of course I will have more than a few questions of my own, but fan input is most welcome.
A couple of notes: Please keep the questions short and sweet.
And please, only leave questions about the following shows. I will be attending various panels during Comic-Con, but I will (maybe) have the opportunity to ask questions of the some of the people who bring us these programs:
"Lost""Chuck""Supernatural""Burn Notice""Caprica""Battlestar Galactica: The Plan"Thank you!
Movies opening this week
"(500) Days of Summer" (PG-13): A romantic comedy about a boy with a broken heart and the girl who broke it.
Living History At Lincoln's Summer Retreat
A country home on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., provided a respite and a summer getaway for a president mired in the Civil War.
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