AMC Networks has chosen Comcast Technology Solutions to serve as its distribution partner for its linear channels and thousands of hours of video on-demand (VOD) content, the companies announced on Tuesday.
The deal means Comcast will be responsible for serving as the centralized video distribution hub for AMC’s linear channels, which it will accomplish through the company’s Managed Channel original product. That product will see Comcast distribute AMC Networks channels to its own Xfinity TV customers and subscribers of other pay TV platforms. Channels covered include the flagship AMC Network as well as BBC America, IFC, Sundance TV and We TV.
Comcast will also distribute AMC’s VOD content on behalf of the broadcaster, which will again benefit its own Xfinity TV customers as well as those of third party platforms that have AMC channels in their packages or who subscribe to AMC Plus, or some combination of the two. In addition to VOD content from AMC channels, the deal also covers content from services like IFC Film Picks and Shudder, among others.
The deal doesn’t just involve distribution in the United States: Comcast will provide AMC linear and video on-demand content to international pay TV and global streaming platforms, too.
“AMC Networks is home to many of the best stories, characters, and brands across TV and film, and a premier destination for global fan communities,” Bart Spriester, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Streaming, Broadcast and Advertising for Comcast Technology Solutions, said in a statement this week. “We’re honored that AMC Networks will rely on us to help streamline their efforts to reach and monetize audiences across the Americas and around the globe. At Comcast Technology Solutions, our mission is to help leading media companies, like AMC Networks, reduce workflow complexity and redundancy, lower capital and operational expenses, and deliver exceptional quality viewing that today’s consumers demand across their screens of choice.”
Comcast Technology Solutions offers a number of different products that the company says will help broadcasters and other content distributors bring their channels to TV platforms securely and which enables them to take advantage of revenue-generating opportunities:
CTS’ Managed Channel Origination provides media companies with a unified workflow, from content acquisition through delivery, with 24-7 service level agreements (SLAs). It provides the capabilities needed to acquire, prepare, create, package, and deliver linear TV and OTT channels. Content is acquired either as live video or file-based acquisition via satellite, fiber, or secure IP. Channels are then prepared with Comcast Technology Solutions’ rendering operations, cloud-based content supply chain implementation, media asset management, and traffic and metadata services. Next, channels are created with capabilities such as channel automation playout (e.g., SCTE triggers, advanced graphics, closed captioning, and more), master control, and VideoAI™. From there, channels are prepared with the necessary encoding, encryption, and authorization policies, then delivered via satellite uplink, fiber, secure internet, or CDNs for MVPDs, vMVPDs, and OTT to any screen. Managed Channel Origination’s redundant and diverse IP routing infrastructure provides a secure global playout solution to accelerate delivery. In addition, CTS’ VOD services enable MVPDs, virtual MVPDs, and OTT providers to launch and manage their own SVOD, TVOD, and AVOD offerings. It provides companies the ability to ingest, store, process, distribute, and monetize their video assets to set-top boxes and connected devices while optimizing C3/C7/D4/D7 windows.
“During this time of evolution and change across our industry, AMC Networks is laser focused on achieving the highest levels of efficiency and service quality across our video portfolio,” said Stephanie Mitchko, the Executive Vice President, Global Media Operations and Technology at AMC Networks. “Whether it’s to support of our premium channels, our archives, or distribution of our acclaimed original franchises such as The Walking Dead Universe and the Anne Rice Immortal Universe, we believe that Comcast Technology Solutions provides us with the right technological backend for our future. CTS is committed to helping us shift towards a single ingest model, consolidate workflows, and manage our linear TV and VOD efforts across our networks and our third-party distribution partners. By centralizing with CTS, we expect to streamline operations, automate highly complex tasks, and free up valuable resources to focus more on creating and monetizing our extensive programming assets.”
