Thanks to the premieres of The Walking Dead, AMC+'s viewership is currently higher than it has ever been. AMC+ is the exclusive streaming service for many AMC programs, including The Walking Dead and its spinoffs, Gangs of London, That Dirty Black Bag, and others. The streaming service was launched in June 2020 and allows subscribers to watch new episodes of AMC series a full week before their premieres on cable.
While AMC has had a history of incredibly successful television programs, including Breaking Bad and Mad Men, one of its flagship series is undoubtedly The Walking Dead. Since The Walking Dead's premiere in 2010, the series has gone on to become one of the largest and most popular zombie horror franchises of all time. AMC produced several Walking Dead spinoff series, including three that are currently in development, alongside the original show. With The Walking Dead's eleventh and final season currently running, one major draw for AMC+ is that it allows fans to catch new episodes a full week early, giving subscribers an exclusive advanced screening. This is also the case for brand-new series, such as Interview with the Vampire, which premiered on AMC on October 2, but was available to AMC+ subscribers on September 25.
According to Variety, AMC+ revealed that between The Walking Dead's season 11C premiere and Interview with the Vampire's series premiere, the streaming service has hit record-high viewership and subscriber acquisition numbers. AMC+ says that, on October 2, 75% of first streams on the services were either The Walking Dead and/or Interview with the Vampire, and that both viewership and subscriber acquisition has tripled. AMC+ currently has 10.8 million streaming subscribers.
How AMC+ Stacks Up Against Other Streaming Services
AMC+ also revealed that the series premiere of Interview with the Vampire has taken the title of number one new series launch ever on the streaming service, earning three times as much viewership as the previous title holder, Dark Winds. Based on its opening weekend performance alone, Interview with the Vampire can likely now be considered one of AMC+'s top series, alongside the likes of The Walking Dead. Expected to perform highly on AMC+ is another addition to the Anne Rice universe alongside Interview with the Vampire, entitled Mayfair Witches. Mayfair Witches will be run exclusively on AMC+ starting January 5, 2023.
While AMC+ has been controversial among subscribers - who say that while AMC's content is excellent, the streaming service itself has some serious bugs - it seems to have found its footing in the form of an all-new television series. Praised for being more accurate to Anne Rice's original novels than the 1994 film, Interview with the Vampire is quickly becoming a massively popular series that AMC+ has to thank for its surge in subscribers. The final part of The Walking Dead season 11 also plays a major role as well, as subscribers can more easily avoid spoilers by getting the chance to watch Walking Dead episodes a full week before cable viewers. With AMC's hope that Mayfair Witches will be just as successful as Interview with the Vampire, if not more so, AMC+ certainly has advantages over its streaming service competitors.
Source: Variety