AMC Networks and the National Cable Television Cooperative said they reached a new carriage agreement.
The two sides were at loggerheads as their deal expired over the New Year's weekend.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the new agreement covers AMC channels including AMC, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv and BBC World News.
Some operators had planned to drop AMC because it was seeking a large fee increase. Individual operators are not bound by the agreement and can use it to carry the channels or opt to drop them. One cable operator, General Communications Inc. in Alaska dropped AMC and Univision on Jan. 1.
“We appreciate AMC Networks’ willingness to take the time to understand our members’ unique challenges and concerns, and their creativity to construct an agreement that addresses the concerns of many of our members,” said Judy Meyka, NCTC executive VP of programming. “AMC Networks has made a significant investment in the programming on their networks and we are pleased that our members have the option to continue offering this programming to their customers.”
During the negotiations, NCTC had complained that AMC wanted its members to carry all of its channels and pay fees based on total subscribers, not just those actually receiving the channels.
"We are pleased to have reached a new distribution agreement with NCTC,” said Bob Broussard, AMC Networks president of network sales. “We have enjoyed a long and successful partnership with NCTC and we look forward to continuing to provide our popular and acclaimed programming to NCTC members and their customers.”
Wall Street, concerned about cord-cutting and subscriber losses--liked the idea that AMC was able to reach a carriage agreement. It's sharewas up slightly on a day when all of the other media stock were down on a day when the Dow was down 300 points because of weakness in China's economy and stock market.
