After AMC Networks Posts Strong Q1 Numbers, Recently Installed CEO Kristin Dolan Says Her “Clear And Actionable Perspective” Will Help Get Company On Track

Dade Hayes
·2 min read

AMC Networks posted first-quarter earnings well ahead of Wall Street estimates, boosting shares in pre-market trading.

The parent company of cable networks AMC and IFC and streaming services AcornTV and Shudder had earnings per share of $2.36, down a tick from the $2.38 reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenue inched up almost 1% to $717.4 million. Wall Street analysts had expected earnings of $1.87 and revenue of $696.7 million.

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The positive results boosted shares in AMC Networks by 13% before the start of the trading day.

Kristin Dolan, part of the family that has controlled AMC Networks and its sister media companies for decades, took over as CEO earlier this year. In her first quarterly earnings call, she touted a “clear and actionable perspective” gained through previous positions. In addition to lengthy stints on the AMC Networks board of directors and as an executive at Cablevision, she founded data analytics firm 605. “While I’m new to my role as CEO, this is a company I know extremely well,” she said, later adding, “I’m an operator. That’s why I was brought into this role.”

Domestic revenue climbed 1% to $612 million, paced by distribution and other categories. Advertising revenues dropped 20% to $161 million, with the company blaming “anticipated linear ratings declines, softness in the advertising market and fewer original programming episodes” during the quarter.

Streaming revenue increased 29% over the prior-year period due to subscriber growth and price increases phased in last year. The company ended the quarter with 11.5 million streaming subscribers, down 300,000. Under previous management, the company had touted its plans to reach 20 million to 25 million subscribers by 2025. Earlier this spring, AMC Networks announced the rollout of an ad-supported tier of flagship streaming outlet AMC+, which Dolan announced will launch in October.

As it continues to battle cord-cutting and confront the complicated economics of direct-to-consumer streaming, AMC Networks has been downsizing its operations. The company said in late-2022 it would lay off 20% of its workforce.

“In an environment of shifting consumption, we are committed to making our content available across the entire distribution ecosystem,” Dolan said in the earnings release. “While we reevaluate the pathways to content monetization, we are strategically reducing costs and streamlining our organization.”

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