At the beginning of April, AMC announced a new collaboration with ITV in the UK, the launch of two new streaming services, AMC Stories and AMC Reality as branded content blocks on ITV’s AVOD service ITVX. This new D2C approach from AMC creates a new outlet for AMC Networks content, which was previously only available in the UK through Pay TV platforms or SVOD services. While AMC Reality focuses on AMC’s non-scripted formats, AMC Stories is home to many prominent AMC scripted shows that have varied first windows. The likes of 'Dietland' and 'Lodge 49', originally on Amazon UK, and 'Portlandia', originally on Netflix, shows the familiarity of selling to SVOD’s while the usage of 'The Son' on AMC UK and 'Creepshow' on AMC owned SVOD Shudder shows the vertical integration we see from other distributors, showing a very mixed strategy before combining these shows onto ITVX as part of AMC Stories.
This use of a branded content block is not new. Pay TV channel groups extended their activity into branded blocks over ten years ago (e.g. FOX+ and ABC on Demand) and more recently, SVOD operations have evolved their direct-to-consumer approach, such as with Lionsgate launching StarzPlay on Viaplay throughout the Nordics and the expansion of Paramount+ in a number of new markets. Each of these had a different strategic rationale and approach (with the former very much a limited library content partnership with Telco and Pay TV operators, the latter an extension of their SVOD distribution plan). The main difference with AMC Stories on ITVX, however, is that, consistent with the current drive to secure advertising revenues, AMC Stories is available on an AVOD basis through ITVX.
StarzPlay launched on Viaplay at the of 2020 as part of their international rollout. Having launched originally as an Amazon Channel in UK and Germany only a year later they launched as a standalone service that rolled out to multiple territories. With Viaplay the same staged process allowed Starzplay to “soft launch” their service in the Nordics and share their content with a ready made user base (Viaplay) before enticing them across to the full launch of StarzPlay in the Nordics.
As a company, it is complicated to look at their strategic approach to content distribution at the moment given the turmoil surrounding the companies ownership and strategy, however their use of branded blocks is a distinct variation from the standard launch of Paramount+ as a full service and is a recognition of the fact that in some territories going at it alone as a full D2C service is not the best route to content monetisation. Following their launch of Paramount+ and the launch of SkyShowtime in lots of markets, they also used branded blocks to launch in South Africa, India, and South Korea, among others. In reality with some of these, that changes very little in terms of where content has been going. In both South Africa and India, where they partnered with Multichoice and JioCinema respectively, they have launched Paramount+ branded blocks with the service that already acquires the majority of Paramount distributed content in those markets. Multichoice owned M-Net and 1Magic and Showmax was responsible for 92% of Paramount content premieres in South Africa in the two years leading up to the branded block launch in 2024. Similarly in the 2 years before the launch in India 88% of Paramount premiers were through JioCinema or Voot Select (The former name of the service before Voot and JioCinema merged) due to an exclusive content deal with Voot back in 2021. Not all branded services are such simple transitions however, the launch on CJ ENM owned TVING in South Korea shows an immediate expansion in the number of Paramount sales in the region and brings brand recognition to a market where previously Paramount sales have been scattered around to various different buyers.
Branded services are a hybrid solution for content owners as they try to best monetise their content. For AMC the initiative may extend the reach and profile of their programming and generate advertising revenue whilst also carving out a new windowing paradigm for them, as they continue to sell content to SVODs in the first window.
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