'Walking Dead' Ratings Crash Has Big Consequences for AMC

AMC Networks lost money in the fourth quarter of last year, thanks in large part to the plummeting ratings of its former cash cow, The Walking Dead. The series is attracting a fraction of the audience it once did, and consequently, it's earning far fewer ad dollars for the network. The change was enough to turn the last three months of 2019 into a losing proposition for AMC. Read on for details.

Via The Hollywood Reporter.

AMC Networks, the cable networks company that operates AMC, IFC, WE tv, BBC America and SundanceTV, on Wednesday said it swung to a fourth-quarter loss amid lower U.S. ratings, higher U.S. programming costs, higher expenses at its streaming video business and special charges.

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Did you miss that “explosive” premiere? Stream the latest episode of #TWD On Demand or the AMC App.

A post shared by The Walking Dead (@amcthewalkingdead) on Feb 25, 2020 at 4:45pm PST

The company, led by CEO Josh Sapan, posted a fourth-quarter loss of $9 million, or 15 cents per share. The results included the impact of $107 million of impairment and related charges at AMC Networks International, including $98 million for the partial writedown of goodwill associated with the unit and $9 million related to "the disposition of certain businesses" that the firm didn't specify, as well as $11 million in restructuring and other related charges.

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Tonight’s episode is written by the amazing David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, directed by our beloved @michaelsatrazemis. Our brilliant collaborators in Production spent months designing and building the massive cave set you’ll see and figuring out how to do all kinds of crazy stunts on it (swipe to see how it looked in progress), and then our Post-Production team made it all even scarier on the back end. . . . And holy s**t, our actors. As always, they’re all so damn good and bring the whole thing to life so beautifully. How badass do Melissa and @iamnadiahilker look even when they’re just chilling between takes? Especially can’t wait for you all to see things play out between Daryl and Carol, and Negan and Alpha! #TWD #AngelaTakeover #TWDFamily

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U.S. advertising was down 7.8 percent in the fourth quarter amid "lower delivery, partially offset by higher pricing" and U.S. distribution revenue was up 5.5 percent. The quarter included the start of season 10 of The Walking Dead on flagship network AMC. Quarterly operating income at the U.S. unit decreased 12 percent to $156 million, with adjusted operating income down 13 percent to $182 million. The drops were driven by lower revenue and an increase in operating expenses "primarily attributable to higher programming expenses."

Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.

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