While it wasn’t quite the dramatic setbacks of Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery this week, AMC Networks posted second-quarter financial results illustrating the perils of operating linear TV networks.
The company’s earnings were down significantly from the prior-year quarter and below Wall Street estimates. The programmer reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.24, down from $2.02 and below analysts’ consensus outlook for $1.52. Revenue beat estimates but fell 8% to $626 million.
In its earnings release, the company said revenue would have declined just 4% when factoring out various one-time elements.
Advertising revenues decreased 11% to $149 million, which the company blamed on linear ratings declines and “a challenging ad market,” saying the downturn was partly offset by digital and advanced advertising revenue growth.
Subscription revenues decreased 3% to $323 million, primarily due to declines in the linear subscriber universe, partially offset by an increase in streaming revenue.
Streaming revenues increased 9% to $150 million driven by year-over-year subscriber growth and price increases. Streaming subscribers increased 5% to 11.6 million.
Affiliate revenues decreased 12% to $172 million, primarily due to basic subscriber declines. Content licensing revenues dropped 18% to $67 million, which the company said was because of the availability of deliveries in the period.
“AMC Networks continues to find opportunities in a strategic plan built around programming, partnerships and profitability,” CEO Kristin Dolan said. “Key to our plan is the creation and curation of celebrated films and series, and making them available to audiences everywhere, including through an exciting new branded content licensing agreement with Netflix. In the first half of 2024, we’ve made significant progress against our strategic priority of generating strong free cash flow, and we’re well on our way to achieving our free cash flow guidance for the full year.”