AMC Global Media is nearing a deal for the next round of rights to The Walking Dead, with the company looking to keep a share of the action and several large players in pursuit.<\/p>\n
The flagship iteration of the franchise, a cornerstone for the company, had its finale in 2022. It remains popular on streaming and spawned multiple spinoffs.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve been really excited about the inbound for discussion on the licensing rights for The Walking Dead,\u201d CEO Kristin Dolan told Wall Street analysts during the company\u2019s first-quarter earnings call Friday. \u201cWe\u2019re really looking at every scenario. There\u2019s a variety of ways to look at it. We definitely feel it\u2019s important to keep some of the content for ourselves co-exclusively, so we\u2019re emphasizing the fact that we\u2019re looking predominantly a co-exclusive deals, but there are some very large and enthusiastic partners in the bidding process right now. So, we\u2019re really looking at any variety of constructs, but the key thing for us is co-exclusivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked whether the company would do a comprehensive deal with one partner or try to break the rights into smaller pieces, perhaps in individual global territories, Dolan said all options remain on the table. \u201cWe may chunk it up, may all go to one partner, domestic versus international. There\u2019s many, many ways to skin this cat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
While valuations for household-name series IP have come down to earth a bit since the frenzy around Friends, South Park and The Office during the streaming explosion several years ago, The Walking Dead rights will fetch several hundred million dollars. Estimated figures were not part of Friday\u2019s discussion on the earnings call.<\/p>\n
Names were also not named, but Netflix has had a significant relationship with AMC, one analyst noted. The streaming giant has helped lift ratings for a number of the company\u2019s original series as they stream seasons in the leadup to new episodes returning to the air. It also put Mad Men back into the zeitgeist a decade after its series finale. AMC has also experimented with a major activation on HBO Max, and continues to lean into its \u201cchannels\u201d relationships with Amazon, Roku and other streaming providers.<\/p>\n
Kim Kelleher, AMC Global Media\u2019s president and chief commercial officer, said more factors than just financial payments come into play with the company\u2019s licensing deals. \u201cOf course we consider the customer experience and discoverability when we\u2019re looking for what our co-exclusive partnerships are going to be going forward. We have several partners around the world for The Walking Dead right now, and we\u2019re engaged with all of them about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments came after the company reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue slipping 2% to $542.1 million and earnings shrinking from 52 cents a share a year ago to 8 cents per share on an adjusted basis. Both metrics beat analysts\u2019 consensus estimates. Streaming revenue rose 11% to $174 million, largely due to price increases, with subscriber levels dipping 3% to 10.1 million.<\/p>\n
Results from the anticipated Walking Dead licensing deal are not factored into the company\u2019s forecast for operating income in 2026, executives said on the call.<\/p>\n
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