Inside AMC Networks’ upfront pitch and its push beyond the TV screen

AMC Networks is pitching its upfront ad packages to marketers at the height of market uncertainty as the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs remains unknown. The cable network group’s upfront show takes place on Wednesday and will feature opportunities for brands to take their TV dollars outside of the living room to the Las Vegas Sphere and on a rock-and-roll tour. AMC’s leaders discussed its upfront market strategy with Ad Age, including its plea for wider adoption of cross-platform ad buying and why it wants to stay out of other TV sellers’ push to be tech companies. More news: Tariffs and the economy—what brands and agencies need to know Here are the three takeaways marketers should know from AMC Networks’ ad pitch: TV buying must shift to offset economic uncertainty Although ever-changing, Kim Kelleher, chief commercial officer at AMC, described the current TV ad market as “more stable now than it was this time last year,” which she attributed to advertisers taking 50% fewer cancellation options for the second quarter than for the same period last year. “It’s been this way since the pandemic—we have not had sturdy ground under our feet for a very, very long time,” said Kelleher. Speaking to the continual calls from buyers for deal flexibility, Kelleher said that flexibility exists in digital TV buying, but that not all agencies and advertisers have transitioned to transacting in that way. Despite the decline of viewership in linear cable, AMC “has done such a good job staying afloat in this nutty marketplace,” said one media buyer speaking on condition of anonymity. Because of AMC’s cross-platform buying tools that allow linear and streaming to be transacted in one programmatic deal, “if you’re buying from AMC, you shouldn’t really care how it’s delivered because you’re buying the [audience].” However, the buyer also recognized that not all long-time TV buyers have had an easy time transitioning to modern ways of transacting TV, which may be more important in this year’s economy as advertisers seek lower cost and higher performance from media buys. Also read: How tariffs are impacting media spending and the TV upfronts This way of buying is critical for AMC as it has diversified its distribution model in the streaming era—juggling a mix of linear, owned streaming and FAST channels on third-party streamers. While the fragmentation of viewership may be complex for advertisers to navigate, it has allowed the company to reach more viewers than it ever has, even more than at the peak of “The Walking Dead,” according to Evan Adlman, executive VP of commercial sales and revenue operations at AMC. Adlman said that across AMC’s 30-plus distribution channels, it reaches 110 million ad-supported monthly active viewers. Earlier this year, AMC hosted a tech-focused breakfast for advertisers at which it announced AMCN Outcomes, a product built into its cross-platform buying product for reporting business outcomes for ads on AMC. This provides auto, retail and consumer packaged goods brands with greater insights into sales driven by TV ads. And to manage the economic impact on AMC’s business, the network groups’ digital ad sales stack, including its integration into FreeWheel’s cross-industry self-service buying platform Universal Ads, allows AMC to supplement pull-back from major advertisers by opening ad space to more small and medium-sized marketers. Take advertising beyond the TV screen While TV content is still core to AMC Networks’ upfront pitch, including packages for the 15th anniversary of “The Walking Dead” and a new franchise, “Great American Stories,” retelling classics such as “The Grapes of Wrath,” it is also presenting off-screen opportunities. The media company has partnered with Las Vegas’ Sphere to present spooky co-branded graphics throughout October as part of AMC’s annual FearFest programming block. Each week in October, one advertiser will partner with AMC and Sphere’s in-house studio to create a show that adheres to that week’s “Sphere of Fear” theme, playing every night at dusk. The partnership will also include inventory in AMC’s FearFest programming and on horror streamer Shudder. Advertisers will also be able to go on tour with Vampire Lestat for a promotional rock tour in anticipation of season three of “Interview with the Vampire,” which recounts the character’s rockstar era. AMC will integrate brand partners into the show, on the ground at tour stops and through custom content, such as a first-look “soundcheck” preview for the season and a co-branded merch store. The opportunities not only give brands ways to engage with superfans of shows such as “Interview with the Vampire,” but also allow AMC to “open up to a whole roster of live and experiential [brands] that don’t do traditional TV advertising,” Kelleher said. AMC Networks is not the only media company pitching advertisers ways to reach fans outside of TV. This year, Fox is selling brand opportunities in a digital recipe hub based on its Gordon Ramsay franchise called “Bite of Fox.” Last year, Netflix pitched its merchandise, in-person experiences and owned out-of-home in the upfront, and TelevisaUnivision pushed sponsorships for music festivals highlighting emerging Latin music artists. The content question persists As many legacy media companies have pivoted in the past decade to tout themselves as tech companies, “I don’t want to be a tech company; I want to be the best programmer I can be,” said Kelleher. AMC has long pitched itself as the counter to other TV companies’ “everything for everyone” mantra, and sees this year as another to double down on the idea that despite not programming live sports and news, a superfan tuning into their favorite show can be just as powerful, said Kelleher. That’s why AMC continues to highlight custom content and co-branding partnerships in its upfront, despite media buyers predicting that this year may be another flight from big brand-building buys to performance media for brands. Last year’s upfront marketplace was defined by pricing reductions in streaming, and IP-touting companies like Warner Bros. Discovery previously told Ad Age that meant pivoting initial pitches from bespoke deals to more fundamental media talks. Kelleher said they saw similar dynamics last year. “We pivoted the [custom content] pitch when they weren’t buying our ideas to ‘let us distribute your ideas,‘” she said. For example, Kelleher said they struck deals to distribute content already being produced by marketers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and L’Oréal. According to Kelleher, bespoke sponsorships are also AMC’s main push in streaming over filling ad spots, which will continue with the launch of Shudder’s ad tier later this year, including presenting sponsorships for weekly Friday “Screamieres.” AMC has centered this idea with the format for its upfront presentation. The earlier tech breakfast was oriented toward buyers and planners in the weeds of TV ad tech, said Adlman. The upfront presentation will be a content showcase for agencies and brands as well as AMC’s distribution partners, in which the company will be able to go deeper into its various streamers, such as crime drama platform Acorn TV, which will present new series “Allie & Andi” starring Brooke Shields, and Shudder, which will present horror competition show “Guts & Glory” with Hyundai as an integrated sponsor. “In times of uncertainty, people are looking to cozy in with escapism,” said Kim Granito, chief marketing officer at AMC, who also pointed to the lift TV may get from budget-wary consumers choosing a night in. “These passion-point brands that we have, like Shudder and Acorn TV, that have deep libraries of the thing that they love—it makes them more of a destination than ever.” Learn about Ad Age’s Data-Driven Marketing Playbook event

Inside AMC Networks’ upfront pitch and its push beyond the TV screen

Featured Stories