AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan offered a wish for labor peace, but she also said the dual WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes wouldn’t begin to threaten the company’s programming supply until “well into 2024.”
Speaking on the company’s second-quarter earnings call with Wall Street analysts, Dolan said the company is well-positioned to weather the strikes. The WGA impasse began May 2 and the actors walked out last month.
“We greatly value the work of our creative partners and hope these disputes can be resolved as quickly and fairly as possible,” Dolan said. “In the short term, the reality for AMC Networks is that we have a pipeline of finished shows that will allow us to continue to serve our viewers across all of our platforms for the remainder of this year and well into 2024.”
The company’s quarterly results fell short of analysts’ consensus revenue forecasts, large due to a 17% year-over-year plunge in domestic advertising revenue.
AMC Networks, parent of cable networks AMC, IFC and We TV as well as streaming services like Shudder and Allblk, is known for The Walking Dead. The flagship series wrapped up its run last fall after 11 seasons, but several spinoffs will keep the property in the mix. AMC premiered The Walking Dead: Dead City in June and will debut The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, a France-set spinoff, in September. Production has wrapped on The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, which is due on the air in 2024.
Along with The Walking Dead, AMC has recently launched three series in the Anne Rice franchise and reteamed with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk for a new series, Lucky Hank.