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Dish Network Scraps AMC Channels

Says too few people are watching, at least via cable

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted May 4, 2012 4:26 PM CDT

(Newser) – Dish Network is removing all four of AMC's cable channels because it says too few people are watching. Part of the problem, it says, is that the "very limited popular programming" on AMC is "available to our customers through multiple other outlets such as Amazon.com, iTunes, and Netflix," reports the Wall Street Journal. AMC Networks channels include IFC, WE TV, Sundance Channel, and AMC—which broadcasts Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead.

The channels will be cut off from Dish next month. AMC released a statement saying the break-up is due to a recent hiccup in an old lawsuit between the two companies over a discontinued series of HD channels called VOOM. Dish replied to the statement, saying AMC "incorrectly attempts to tie together two separate issues" and that "our decision to drop AMC Networks' channels is solely dependent on their high renewal cost when compared to their low viewership."

Don Draper in a scene from Mad Men on AMC.
Don Draper in a scene from "Mad Men" on AMC.   (AP Photo/AMC)
A scene from The Walking Dead on AMC.
A scene from "The Walking Dead" on AMC.   (AP Photo/AMC, Gene Page)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 17 comments
YEE_HAW
May 26, 2012 5:25 AM CDT
 Yeah, try watching a movie on AMC. Should be re-labled Another MotherF*king Commercial. Same with IFC.
chezwhat
May 5, 2012 3:20 PM CDT
BIG OOPS. From insidetv.ew.com/March 26: TV’s most critically acclaimed drama returned Sunday night to record ratings. The fifth-season debut of AMC’sMad Men delivered 3.5 million viewers for its two-hour premiere. That’s up 21 percent from 2010's fourth-season premiere, which marked the show’s previous all-time high. Of those viewers, about 1.6 million were adults 18-49. The fourth season averaged about 2.4 million viewers, including DVR playback. Mad Men‘s first season averaged about 925,000 viewers.
Rammrodd
May 5, 2012 11:23 AM CDT
Smart move by Dish Network. Clean out all the rubbish channels. Let the oddballs, geeks, & freaks watch the junk on Direct TV.
 

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