NCTC, AMC Networks Continue Negotiations

The National Cable Television Cooperative and AMC Networks continued their carriage negotiations through a New Year’s deadline, leaving the channels available to millions of subscribers Friday.

NCTC had complained about big price hikes and other conditions being sought by AMC, home of one of TV's most-watched shows, The Walking Dead..

In an interview, NCTC CEO Rich Fickle said he expected that many of the small cable operators the group represents would drop AMC rather than add or pay for AMC Network’s other channels.

General Communications Inc. in Alaska also said it planned to drop AMC, along with Univision, in 2016.

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.