B&C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing the top five TV promos ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the 7-day period through Aug. 22.

An AMC promo for the return of The Walking Dead tops our Promo Mojo ranker for the week ended Aug. 22.

Four other cable networks join AMC in crowding traditional broadcasters out of the top five: MTV hypes the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards in second place, HGTV builds excitement for Cheap Old Houses in third, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries promotes Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Honeymoon, Honeymurder in fourth, and Food Network whets viewers’ appetites for the Kal Penn-hosted Money Hungry in fifth.

Notably, the MTV spot has this week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (108), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch it all the way through (vs. interrupting it by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

1) The Walking Dead, AMC

Impressions: 218,894,864

Interruption Rate: 3.07%

Attention Index: 89 (1q% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 88%, Local 11%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $495,015

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $636,900

2)  2021 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV

Impressions: 200,197,954

Interruption Rate: 3.05%

Attention Index: 108 (8% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 98%, Local 2%, VOD/OTT 0%

In-network Value: $895,682

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $11,130

3) Cheap Old Houses, HGTV

Impressions: 175,180,680

Interruption Rate: 1.57%

Attention Index: 95 (5% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 99%, Local 0%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $621,732

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

4) Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Honeymoon, Honeymurder, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries

Impressions: 168,353,186

Interruption Rate: 4.24%

Attention Index: 103 (3% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 99%, Local 0%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $826,940

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $2,809

5) Money Hungry, Food Network

Impressions: 156,100,867

Interruption Rate: 1.77%

Attention Index: 82 (18% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 98%, Local 1%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $485,936

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $101,899

*Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands*

Impressions - The total impressions within all US households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD+OTT, and Local.

Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs. the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Imp. Types - Impression types tracked include National (Live + Time-shifted), Local, VOD & OTT. See below for further details.

In-network Value - Estimated media value of in-network promos.

Out-of-network Spend - The estimated amount spent on TV airing time for this promo's spots during a given date range.

National: Live - A national promo which was viewed during live linear television broadcast or same day, via DVR or on-demand.

Local - A promo that was aired during a local ad break slot.

VOD - This includes promos that run in on-demand content past three days (i.e. do not contain the linear promo load)

OTT - On-demand streaming content (i.e. Hulu, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast).

Broadcasting + Cable's Kent Gibbons and Michael Malone chat about CBS's CSI: Vegas, Field of Dreams baseball on Fox, and the final season of The Walking Dead on AMC.

The 40th edition of Survivor begins on CBS Wednesday, Feb. 12. It is “Winners at War,” with only past champions among the 20 contestants. They include Ethan Zohn, “Boston” Rob Mariano, Parvati Shallow and Sandra Diaz-Twine.

The winner gets a cool $2 million. Host Jeff Probst said the contestant who best adjusts to the rhythm of the game may end up with all of the money. “I think being able to read the pace of this season and act accordingly will be essential in getting to the end with a chance to win,” said Probst, also an executive producer. “You have to sense when to [hit] the gas and when to hit the brakes. There will be very little wiggle room for mistakes.”

Just about every season of Survivor offers something new and this time, it’s currency. “Fire tokens will quickly become very important to players in the game and those who find themselves on the Edge of Extinction,” Probst said. “As with any society, once money enters, everything changes.”

Every past champ who was asked to come on said yes, according to Probst. “With each new player that said ‘yes,’ you could feel the momentum accelerate a bit more,” he added.

Walking Dead Walk to School on Disney

Also looking to outwit, outlast and outplay are the zombie kids in Zombies 2. The follow-up to 2018 film Zombies, it premieres on Disney Channel Friday, Feb. 14. Set in the town of Seabrook, where zombies live in a ghetto on the edge of town, Zombies showed the unlikely romance between cheerleader girl Addison and zombie boy Zed.

Zombies 2 sees a group of mysterious werewolves roll into town.

David Light and Joseph Raso wrote and executive produced the film. The pair sought to produce a zombie story kids could watch without being scared to death. The Zombies zombies are “attractive and adorable and cute,” Light said, “and they’re great singers and dancers.”

Milo Manheim plays Zed and Meg Donnelly is Addison. Paul Hoen directed both Zombies films.

In the original movie the zombies mostly sought to fit in with the humans. The werewolves, led by Willa, Wyatt and Wynter, not so much.

Highlights of Zombies 2 include Zed and cheer captain Bucky, both running for class president, engaging in a rap battle. The film is full of original music: Cheerleader tunes are pop, the zombies are hip-hop and the werewolves do world beat.

The town’s name is a nod to William Seabrook, an author whose Adventures in Arabia is said to introduce zombies to pop culture.

Light and Raso are keen to keep the franchise rolling. “We definitely envision a Zombies 3,” Raso said. “Of course there would be a new monster introduced to it.”

AMC Networks said its policy of making its original series available to streaming video on demand a year after they appear on linear TV remains appropriate.

Subscription VOD services like Netflix and Hulu are being accused of being culprits as traditional television ratings decline. While they generate billions of dollars in revenue for programmers, they also are seen as encouraging cord-cutting and cord-shaving, reducing the distribution revenue for linear TV networks.

Analysts and industry executives have said networks and studios should review their SVOD policies to avoid killing TV's golden goose. Among them, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said during a conference call with analysts and investors Wednesday (Nov. 4) that the company is evaluating delaying when it makes its shows available to SVOD providers as a means of boosting the value of the pay TV bundle.

At AMC, “We’ve been fairly consistent in our thinking since we engaged in SVOD exploitation," CEO Josh Sapan said during AMC’s earnings call Thursday (Nov. 5). "We thought it was wise to balance time and money.”

AMC waits about a year to make its shows available to SVOD, in the case of shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Sapan said that gave AMC the value of increased exposure, which led to higher ratings for those series.

“Our view today is our approach was a measured one and an appropriate one,” Sapan said.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Bravo will look to build on its scripted series slate with the development of three new series, the network said Monday.

The new series include My So Called Wife, a dark comedy from Adam Brooks and Paul Adelstein (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce) that follows a woman con-artist who marries and then abandons rich men; White Collar Wives, written by Vanessa Reisen (Extant, Weeds), which follows the lives of women married to men involved in a hedge fund scandal; and All The Glitters, from The Walking Dead’s Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment and based on the book examining how Anna Wintour and Tina Brown dominated the 1980s publishing world. 

The announcements follows the first season of the network’s first scripted series Girlfriends Guide to Divorce, which drew 1.38 million viewers in Live+7, and the June launch of its first scripted comedy series Odd Mom Out.

“As we look to expand our scripted slate we're eagerly taking on new territories, from fashion to finance to female con-artists, and obviously jumped at the opportunity to continue our relationship with Paul Adelstein and Adam Brooks who have a proven track record with the network,” said Lara Spotts, Senior Vice President of development for Bravo in a statement

Sunday’s season five finale of AMC’s zombie-themed series The Walking Dead drew 15.8 million viewers, the network said Monday.

The 90-minute episode was the most watched finale in series history – besting season four’s 15.6 million viewers – and drew 10.4 million adults 18-49, said network officials.

The 15.6 million viewers fell short of the 17.3 million viewers for last October’s season five premiere.

AMC’s live follow-up talk show Talking Dead drew a record 7.5 million viewers and 4.9 million adults 18-49, said network officials. 

“It’s tough enough in today’s competitive environment to command attention, and even harder to hold onto it,” said AMC president Charlie Collier, in a statement.  “So, for The Walking Dead to maintain this level of urgent viewership in its fifth season – and to end with the highest-rated finale in series history – is really something rare and remarkable.” 

With no live college or pro football games to compete against, USA Network emerged as the most watched cable network in primetime during the month of February.

USA, in ending ESPN's football-fueled, five-month run at the top spot, rode the return of its drama series Suits (pictured) as well as its WWE Monday Night Raw franchise to an average of 1.9 million primetime viewers during the period of Jan. 26 to Feb. 22 to best all cable networks, according to Nielsen.

Fox News and Disney Channel tied for second place with with 1.8 million viewers, while TBS and Discovery tied for fourth with 1.7 million viewers.

AMC (1.6 million viewers); History (1.5 million), HGTV and TNT (tied with 1.4 million) and ESPN (1.3 million) round out the top 10 most watched networks for the month.

Nickelodeon, Adult Swim and Disney Channel finished in a virtual tie for first place over a 24-hour basis, with all three networks averaging 1.2 million viewers. Fox News’ 1.1 million viewers and USA’s 1.0 million viewers followed closely behind.

Episodes from AMC’s The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul represented half of the top 10 most-watched shows for the month, with Discovery-based shows Gold Rush and Alaskan Bush People occupying three slots and TNT’s NBA All-Star Game coverage dunking the final two positions on the list, according to Nielsen.

For the 23 million who were engaged with NBC’s Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, there was another pretty good live event in New York on Sunday night.

Those lucky enough to be inside the transformed Madison Square Garden or watching the TNT/TBS simulcast of the 64th NBA All-Star witnessed some sweet moves (and a few lowlights) in the highest-scoring contest in the event's history.

The ASG in NYC --the West prevailed 163-158 -- began with the tip between the Brothers Gasol, with Pau winning on a double hit.  The big men for Spain were largely lost in the run-and-gun affair, although Marc did catch LeBron James’s attention with a crushing blow on a corner three point attempt.

The King didn’t take kindly to the body block, expressing his royal displeasure by later attempting an inbound decapitation with a pass off the back of Mark’s noggin.

LeBron loathers also had other reasons to revel. The Earl of Akron smacked an underhand alley-oop set-up from John Wall off the back rim and gave new meaning to the phrase wide left, when he missed the backboard on  what appeared to be a self-pass a la Tracey McGrady.

To be fair, LBJ notched 30, including a reverse alley-oop slam(Zack LaVine, anyone?) to pass Kareem and Michael Jordan and become the second All-Star scorer behind Kobe.  The absent Laker still leads by two.

Carmelo Anthony’s single ASG mark of 8 treys from last year withstood challenges by Kyle “Ashton Kutcher” Korver and James “The Beard” Harden, both of whom connected on seven from downtown.  

The hometown representative clanged it around like much of the Knicks’ abysmal season. Melo's futility included a pair of three-point misses on the East’s final possession -- he closed matters with 6 of 20 from the floor, before likely moving on to the operating table.

Russell Westbrook, perhaps the NBA’s most athletic player, had 25 with 7 minutes to go in the second quarter.  His full-game repertoire featured a quintet of threes, a number of rim-rocking dunks, and by his own admission four or five missed layups. Had he connected on one of those, the game's MVP would have dunked Wilt Chamberlain’s 42-point ASG record. That mark has stood since The Dipper’s incredible (50.4 points-per-game, 100-point-game outburst) 1962 season.

Sunday night's most entertaining player, though, was Saturday night's three-point champ, Steph Curry. While he disappointed in the horrendous Game Changer contest against John Wall during the team’s practices early that afternoon, Curry’s handle was in full flow, as he set up teams with an array of between the legs, around the back and alley-oop passes. (Dallas’ Dirk Novitizki got caught up in the moment, reaching into the past for a two-hand flush and then struck a vince Carter pose.)

But the highlight of the night from this perch on media row was Curry’s double behind the back dribble that led to an elongated one-hand scoop shot off the floor that evaded Al Horford’s reach and touched just below the top of the board before settling into the cylinder -- a Rafterian kiss the night after Valentine’s.

There was plenty of entertainment off the court as well.  Cast members from Broadway’s "Jersey Boys," "Mama Mia" and "Chicago" did their things, flouting short medleys as nationwide tourism plugs.  

An attempted “New York, New York” crowd sing-along went largely silent – wrong building, wrong borough.

Steve Schirripa engaged Curry, fellow "splash brother" Klay Thompson  and Atlanta's center Horford in “Wiseguy Vocabulary” on the giant scoreboard. Pau easily turned in the best "fuhgettaboutit" of the bunch.

There was also an inflatable mascot cotillion. Harry the Hawks and Hugo The Hornet were in perfect lockstep during Michael Bolton’s "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?”

As for celebrity row sightings, Bill Clinton received the biggest hand, although the former President and the Secret Service detail should have wagged their fingers to shoo Dikembe Mutumbo from blocking their views.

There were the usual suspects: Ben Stiller and wife Christine Taylor, Jay-Z and Bey, who usually sit first row at Barclays, and Spike Lee in a ridiculous get-up.

Rihanna sat to the right of the director, while Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes also had front row game -- authorizing billions of dollars in rights checks has its privileges.    

On court, five of the game’s greats gathered: Magic, Doc, Kareem, The Big O and Russ.

For their part, Knicks trotted out six:  BKing, Dollar Bill, Phil Jackson, The Pearl, Clyde in a cowskin suit and The Captain. One didn’t deserve action there.

Given the state of the Lakers and his various injuries, the 2015 All-Star Game could mark Kobe’s last major hurrah. There won’t be any Olympics like in 2014 and presumably NBC won’t be serving up a 41st anniversary of Saturday Night Live special to steal viewers.  However, AMC’s The Walking Dead will be still be stalking and there certainly won’t be any home-court Nielsen advantage from Toronto.

Still, the phrase Live from Toronto may have a nicer Nielsen ring to it than the 7.2 million who tuned in the TNT/TBS simulcast from New York.

The worldwide leader was on top of Nielsen’s primetime cable world in 2014.

Averaging nearly 2.32 million watchers, ESPN set the cable pace in the daypart during 2014, according to Nielsen data. The sports network unseated USA Network, which averaged 2.13 million watchers. TNT, Disney Channel and History rounded out the top five, with 1.99 million, 1.91 million and 1.824 million watchers, respectively.

According to a Disney Media Networks analysis of Nielsen (reflecting a blend of live+seven-day data from Dec. 30, 2013 through Dec. 14 and live+same-day data from Dec. 15 through Dec. 28), TBS was sixth with 1.817 million, ahead of Fox News Channel’s 1.78 million. FX was eighth with 1.40 million, slightly ahead of Discovery Channel’s 1.39 million. HGTV completed the top 10, averaging 1.34 million watchers.

Finishing just outside the top 10: AMC, whose zombie skein The Walking Dead dominated the upper echelon of programming rankings, averaging 1.33 million watchers; Cartoon Nework, with 1.28 million; A&E, which tallied almost 1.26 million; and ABC Family at 1.20 million.

Gauged on a total-day basis, perennial winner Nickelodeon took home the prize again with 1.51 million watchers on average, ahead of rival Disney Channel, which closed the Nielsen calendar with just under 1.4 million. Adult Swim (1.18 million), USA (1.16 million) and Fox News (1.06 million) rounded out the top 5 in this measure.

How dominant was The Walking Dead? The show, which benefits greatly from time-shifted viewing, chomped 16 of the top 20 spots, including nine of the top 10, headed by almost 23.4 million for the bow of its fifth campaign on Oct. 12. That installment was illustrative of how the show grows with delayed viewing, The premiere garnered 17.3 million watchers, a record for a cable drama, but the installment tacked on an additional 6.1 million watchers to its total on the live+7-day measure.

ESPN’s college and pro football coverage scored the other eight spots. The final BCS Championship game, Florida State’s last-second win over Auburn on Jan. 6 (pictured), was cable’s top show of 2014, tomahawk-chopping over 25.7 million watchers.

Expanding on its Watchathon initiative, Comcast is providing its video subscribers with a week-long opportunity to catch up on some of the best that cable has to offer via live viewing and an array of on-demand fare.

The Free Channel Week extends from Sept. 22 and Sept. 28 and affords Xfinity TV Digital customers unlimited access across myriad devices to thousands of TV shows and movies from more than 30  channels.

The programming play, aimed at providing sampling and ultimately customer acquisition, encompasses Encore, A&E, AMC, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Food Network, FX, History, Lifetime, Movieplex, MLB Network, National Geographic Channel, Nick Jr., Sprout, Sundance, Syfy, TNT, TBS and USA Network, among others.

The initiative, which builds on Comcast’s highly successful Watchathon on-demand gambit by adding live viewing to the mix, will give Xfinity customers a chance to reacquaint themselves with or watch some of cable’s most successful programming for the first time during broadcast’s premiere week, including AMC’s zombie hit, The Walking Dead, FX’s biker skein, Sons of Anarchy, and TNT’s summer hit, The Last Ship.

Free Channel Week also has kids (and parent) appeal with access to Nick Jr.’s Paw Patrol and Disney XD classics like Lab Rats and Phineas and Ferb, while sports fans can check out the final week of the 2014 baseball season’s pennant chases, via coverage on MLB Network.

The nation’s leader distributor provided details about Free Channel Week on its "Comcast Voices" blog.

Cable networks are jolting ratings with supernatural and horror-themed scripted series that are slaying both male and female viewers.

Following the success of horror/supernaturalthemed shows like AMC’s The Walking Dead, FX’s anthology supernatural series American Horror Story, MTV’s Teen Wolf, TNT’s Falling Skies, HBO’s True Blood, Game of Thrones and The Leftovers and Netflix’s Hemlock Grove, programmers are rolling out nearly a dozen new genrebased series that have either launched or will launch in 2014. They hope to thrill viewers with plenty of action, strong storylines and lots of scares.

“[Horror/supernatural] is a massively popular broad entertainment genre,” Syfy president Dave Howe said. “It’s the most mainstream genre, and I think the broadcast and cable networks have recognized that popularity and are reaching a new generation of viewers that are reading fantasy novels and playing [genre-based] video games.”

Indeed, from theatrical box-office hits such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, World War Z, The Conjuring and Godzilla to top-selling video games as Call of Duty: Ghosts and Titanfall, shows with horror or supernatural themes are drawing fans across multiple platforms.

On cable, the genre has been slicing its way across network lineups. For one, Syfy’s freshman apocalyptic-themed series Helix has already been green-lighted for a second season after averaging more than 2 million viewers in its winter season run. The same goes for Showtime’s supernatural-themed series Penny Dreadful, renewed for a second season two months ago.

Other shows waiting in the wings to launch this month include Lifetime’s post-apocalyptic drama series The Lottery, in which a national lottery is held to determine surrogates for the last 100 human embryos; and FX’s The Strain, in which current-day New York is infected by a vampire virus.

One of the reasons why horror and suspense shows are performing well on cable is their ability to draw a wide range of viewers, including women who are not traditionally known to be big fans of the genre.

For instance, FX said its Emmy-winning American Horror Story skewed 59% female during its third season. AMC’s zombie drama The Walking Dead — cable’s most watched show — is also the most watched series on cable among female viewers, besting both scripted and reality content.

Most of cable’s horror and supernatural series — which often pair intricate storylines with graphic violence — appeal to female viewers looking for thrills and suspense, FX CEO John Landgraf said. And the genre’s shows feature more involved, soap opera-like storylines that can attract women despite their often grisly scenes, WGN America and Tribune Studios president and general manager Mark Cherniss added.

WGN America’s first original series, Salem, which revisits the period of the Salem, Mass. witch trials, scared up 1.5 million viewers in the supernatural- themed show’s April premiere episode, the network’s highest-rated show in more than seven years, according to the network.

“Horror/supernatural shows can offer action, scares, drama and romance — there are a lot of different elements that fit into the supernatural drama that allow those things to play right next to each other, where in other genres it’s a lot harder to fit all those elements together into one show,” Cherniss said.

Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies, added that the development of quality, CGI-enhanced special effects has allowed networks to deliver movie-quality content in a series. TNT’s Michael Bay-produced series The Last Ship, which follows a U.S. Navy destroyer carrying the antidote for a global pandemic that has wiped out 80% of the world’s population, is currently the most watched new series on cable this year, averaging more than 5 million viewers.

“You can now make something that’s pretty epic in scope in terms of the storytelling and compete with theatrical films where the viewer doesn’t feel let down,” said Wright. “We could imagine these stories 10 years ago but couldn’t execute them. Now you can.”

On-screen editing standards have also changed, allowing cable and broadcast networks to depict more graphic and often gory scenes that are typical of the genre, making the shows more visually appealing to viewers.

“Television back in the broadcast-network era really had to censor the genre to the point where it seemed second-rate to what a theatrical film could put forth for fans of the horror genre,” Landgraf said. “But in the cable era, the networks can put pretty graphic stuff on the air that looks to sustain a story and a group of characters for longer than a two-hour movie. The fans also want story and character development, and I think television right now is able to deliver that in the horror genre.”

And network executives said they’re not worried about oversaturating the market for horror and supernatural shows, adding that there are still a lot of stories to be told within the genre.

“As long as you’re bringing to those different shows a distinctive voice, great casting and a unique approach to the storytelling, I think you can stand out,” Turner’s Wright said. “It’s a marvelous blank canvas for great storytellers.”

Syfy has looked to up the ante on its schedule with the recent debut of Dominion, in which archangels battle each other with the survival of humankind in the balance. The series drew 2 million viewers in its June 16 premiere, above the network’s 970,000 viewer primetime average for June.

The network also has on deck a remake of the 1995 theatrical sci-fi thriller 12 Monkeys, along with several other series that it hopes will keep the network competitive in the growing supernatural/horror genre.

“We recognize that there is an explosion of competition, so I think what we have to do is more of what we do best,” Howe said. “We are the experts in the space and so we’re in the throes of emphasizing and amplifying our high quality, provocative and smart storytelling.”

AMC Networks reported higher second-quarter earnings, with its top-rated show, The Walking Dead, helping to generate big gains in ad revenue. But high levels of program investment scared Wall Street, which sold off the company’s stock.

Net income rose 16% to $71.4 million, or 98 cents a share, from $61.5 million, or 85 cents a share a year ago.

Revenues rose 37% to $525 million.

“AMC Networks continued to build momentum in the first quarter of 2014, with double digit increases in revenue and AOCF. At our national networks, our original programming performed well, driving attention for and strengthening our network brands,” CEO Josh Sapan said in a statement. "Having completed our acquisition of Chellomedia, we are quickly integrating those networks and are streamlining our operations. We view our now-robust international platform as a springboard for additional growth for the company in the years ahead as we continue to focus on creating and delivering maximum value for our shareholders.”

But cash flow and earnings per share were below Wall Street expectations, sending AMC shares down more than 8% in afternoon trading to the $59 level.

“Despite the stronger-than-expected advertising growth, the lack of visibility on expense growth continues to concern investors,” said David Joyce, analyst at the International Strategy & Investment Group, who downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, and reduced his stock price target to $75 from $81.

Todd Juenger, senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, noted in a report that AMC crushed it on the bottom line and that would could have been a bullish report was “overwhelmed by the magnitude of program investment.”

Juenger added that the company had no apologies for its programming spending and gave no indication it will stop. “One can't help but give them some credit; they are true believers (and to some extent seem befuddled by what they perceive as the investment community's focus on the short-term),” he wrote in the report.

According to Juenger’s calculations, AMC had $20 million in incremental spending on programming and marketing in the quarter, which he said was a lot for a company AMC’s size, with most of that spending focused on SundanceTV.

“The good news is, some of that investment will be recouped in the near future, with certainty, from international and SVOD licensing,” Juenger said.

During AMC’s conference call with analysts, Sapan reiterated the company’s strategy.

“At each of our other channels, WE tv, IFC and SundanceTV, we are pursuing the same focus on original programming. We continue to ramp up our investment in original content, and these networks are each enjoying solid momentum,” he said. “As we said in the past, our focus is to make each of those channels better, which we believe will ultimately make our portfolio of channels stronger and our business more resilient and have better growth in the long term.”

Sapan added that the company is also looking to become more global. “ We continue to view the International market as one that has the potential to provide attractive long-term growth and value. And we are, therefore, pursuing opportunities to accelerate and enhance our International presence and exposure,” he said.

Cash flow at AMC’s national networks, which include AMC, WE tv, IFC and SundanceTV, was up 8% to $178 million, as revenue increases were offset by higher programming and marketing expenses.

Revenues at the networks were up 21% to $449 million. Advertising revenues were up 27% to $208 million, with most of the gains posted by AMC Network.

The company said growth will not be at the same level in the second quarter, because AMC will be airing fewer episodes of Mad Men. Cash flow will be affected by two new shows—Turn and Halt & Catch Fire—are wholly owned by AMC.

“While there will be tough ratings and advertising revenue comps in second quarter and third quarter, we believe there will be a strong fourth quarter, when there are premieres of the next season of The Walking Dead and the new Better Call Saul, Joyce said.

Sapan said currently the scatter market is fine. As for the upfront, “our products being really well-received,” he said. “Not only AMC but the original shows on IFC, WE and Sundance are increasingly better known by name. I think that's enhancing the perception of the brands. And when you speak to buyers and planners, they know exactly what you're talking about.”

He said an appetite is building among buyers for original programming on AMC and its sibling networks. ‘They think that -- I hope they think -- I think they do, that we're above the crowd and that we will do well, and certainly relatively well. So I think we're positioned pretty well,” Sapan said.

Distribution revenue increased 16% to $241 million.