Kim Kelleher: Celebs Rumors

After two years of virtual operations due to Covid, AMC Networks is convening an in-person upfront presentation tonight in New York, where it will highlight a number of digital ad initiatives.

AMC Networks is rolling out cheaper, ad-supported tiers for all of its niche streaming services after putting ads on its flagship AMC+ bundle late last year.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor AMC Networks plans to offer ad-supported versions to all of its targeted streaming services by the end of the 2024-2025 upfront market, part of a broader bid to give advertisers a potential perch in nearly every video venue. AMC in late 2023 launched an ad-supported edition of its flagship AMC+ streaming venue, which comprises offerings from Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited. Now, it wants to offer plans tied to those individual hubs, as well as other services, outside of an overarching AMC+ plan.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor AMC Networks has joined the ranks of ad-supported streaming. The company said Thursday that it has begun rolling out an ad-supported version of its AMC+ service for broadband users, and will charge $4.99 per month for it, as opposed to the $8.99 per month it seeks for an ad-free tier.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor AMC Networks is the latest of the nation’s big TV companies to work to marry advertisers to viewers in a venue that breaks most of TV’s long-standing rules. The company, best known for cable networks like AMC, IFC and BBC America, expects to launch an ad-supported tier of its AMC+ streaming service later in 2023, according to Kim Kelleher, the company’s chief commercial officer. The new offering will feature a “light” ad load that executives say is in keeping with standards currently set at other services, but the intention is to help marketers weave themselves into and around programming in bespoke fashion, Kelleher says. “We will place ads in ways that are not disruptive, that are really thoughtful,” says the executive. “Some movies will have no ads. Some movies may have a mid-roll, or some will have a pre-roll. It’s not one-size-fits-all, and we get to be very careful” in how we place commercials in viewers’ streaming choices. AMC+ subscribers will get access to all content, no matter their choice, she adds. “It will be the same product on both tiers. We are not going to take series and movies people expect to watch and say that you only get them if you pay more,” she says. “We want this to be a great viewer experience.”

AMC Networks said it plans to add a cheaper, ad-supported subscription tier of flagship streaming service AMC+ later this year.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Evan Adlman, a sales executive who has helped develop many of AMC Networks’ advanced advertising initiatives in recent years, will take oversight of the company’s digital and national sales teams under an overhaul of the team. Adlman will become executive vice president of commercial sales and revenue operations. In this new role, he will oversee national sales, linear and digital operations, the FAST/AVOD business team, programmatic sales and advanced advertising. Todd Schwartzman and Tony Song, will lead national sales under his aegis, while Marisa Simon, will lead the linear and addressable operations teams. AMC Networks makes the change as most TV companies are getting ready for the industry’s annual “upfront” sales session, when media companies hope to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory for their next cycle of programming. Adlman will report to Kim Kelleher, who was recently named AMC Networks’ chief commercial officer.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Kim Kelleher added oversight of distribution revenue to her portfolio at AMC Networks, a substantial enlargement of her duties at the content company that was recently put under the aegis of a new CEO. Kelleher, who will continue to supervise advertising sales and partnerships, has been named chief commercial officer of the company, best known for its flagship cable network and influential series like “Better Call Saul” and “The Walking Dead.” “A cohesive, forward-looking commercial revenue team that has responsibility for all of our valuable partner relationships across advertisers, affiliates and new digital platforms makes strong strategic sense and Kim is the perfect executive to lead it,” said Christina Spade, who was recently named CEO of AMC Networks, in a statement. “She has brought her own unique talent, ingenuity and dynamic leadership to our commercial revenue group. We are thrilled to apply her abilities to an even more comprehensive role to drive the company’s top-line growth.” Kelleher will report to Spade.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAMC Networks has some big TV events to sell in the months ahead, but the company realizes advertisers who might like to be associated with those programs will want new kinds of advertising around them.This next cycle of programming will bring with it TV events like the final episodes of “Better Call Saul’ and “The Walking Dead” that ought to command high prices in TV’s next “upfront” market, along with the debut of a show based on Anne Rice’s popular “Interview with the Vampire,” but without digital opportunities around them, marketers may not engage fully, suggests Kim Kelleher, AMC Networks’ president of commercial revenue and partnerships.“We are seeing an increased appetite for digital inventory, and we have spent a lot of time working to break down the walls between digital and linear,” she says in an interview. “Those are table stakes now.” While AMC is one of the sector’s smaller players, it has unveiled some eye-opening initiatives in recent months, including the launches of a handful of so-called FAST, or free, ad-supported streaming channels and a commitment to sell addressable ad inventory in each linear hour of original programs on its AMC and We TV cable networks.The company is poised to expand its efforts.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAMC Networks will unveil a new ad-sales initiative called “Avenue” aimed at helping advertisers reach diverse audiences more effectively and more frequently.Slated to be unveiled at a virtual “upfront” event on Thursday, “Avenue” aims to give advertisers more resources to reach different audiences and new events that will make that outreach possible throughout the calendar year, says Kim Kelleher, , president of commercial revenue and partnerships for AMC Networks, in a recent interview.“We are part of this greater industry that’s really striving to be more representative, and more authentic in that representation,” says Kelleher. “What we have done is organized our audiences, our data tools, and our creators in a way that can more easily be tapped by our advertising and marketing partners.” “Avenue” will initially focus on five key groups: women, Black audiences, LBGTQ+, Asian-American Pacific Islanders) and Hispanic/Latinx.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorA wave of zombies is about to descend on the still-frothy world of NFT hype.For its long-running flagship drama “The Walking Dead,” AMC Networks is taking a big swing at the ongoing mania for nonfungible tokens — with a multiyear NFT strategy aimed at keeping the undead franchise alive long after the show leaves TV.AMC has teamed with NFT creative studio startup Orange Comet, which is serving as producer and marketplace for broad array of “TWD” NFT content.The custom NFTs will be released in multiple drops, with the first taking place on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m.