AMC Entertainment Networks Group Absorbs AMC Studios

08.14.2019

AMC Networks is integrating AMC Studios into its overall Entertainment Networks Groups, the company said Wednesday. As part of that restructuring, Entertainment Networks Group President Sarah Barnett will assume oversight of the whole entity, while David Madden, president of programming for the Entertainment Networks Group and AMC Studios, departs later this month.Â

"We are already seeing the benefits of our entertainment networks working more closely together - the next logical strategic step is to integrate AMC Studios into this same group, so that the people making our celebrated series are more closely coordinated with the marketing, scheduling and publicity teams who connect our shows to passionate fans," Barnett said in a statement. "We believe this new structure best positions our nimble organization for success in an increasingly competitive environment.Â

AMC Entertainment Networks Group comprises four networks: AMC, BBC America, Sundance TV and IFC as well as ad-free service AMC Premiere.

AMC is home to three of the top six most-watched dramas in ad-supported cable: The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul and Fear the Walking Dead with another Walking Dead spin-off and a movie on the way. It also recently premiered the second iteration of anthology series The Terror: Infamy, set in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, and it airs such shows as Lodge 49, NOS4A2 and Preacher.

The overall group recently received 25 Emmy nominations with nine each for Killing Eve on BBC America and Better Call Saul on AMC, four for IFC's Documentary Now! and three for Sundance TV's short-form series State of the Union.

BBC America is preparing to launch natural history micro-net Wonderstruck on Saturdays in partnership with BBC Studios, while next year, AMC will premiere original series Dispatches from Everywhere from Jason Segal.