AMCX News & Events

"Now Streaming" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories surrounding the biggest content streamers.PLAYING THIS WEEKEND:Among this weekend's notable new streaming content is Apple TVdark comedy "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed," starring Tatiana Maslany and Jake Johnson. Additionally, Paramount+subscribers can catch the new season of drama series "The Chi," while Netflixusers can watch adult animated comedy "Mating Season," starring Nick Kroll.IMAX EXPLORES SALE:Imaxis considering a sale and has approached entertainment companies as potential buyers, The Wall Street Journal's Ben Fritz and Jessica Toonkel reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the situation. The sale process is in early stages and may not result in a deal, the people said.Following the report, Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey raised the firm's price target on Imax to $60 from $44 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The report "strongly validates our long-standing thesis" that the company's strategic value "materially exceeds what is reflected in the current public valuation" and "increasingly supports our thesis that Rich Gelfond may ultimately seek to define his legacy through a strategic sale of the company he helped transform," the analyst tells investors. Logical strategic potential buyers include Sony, Apple, Amazon, Disney, Comcast'sNBCUniversal, Netflix, Sphere Entertainment, and Cinepolis, the analyst added.NETFLIX/IHEARTMEDIA:iHeartMediaand Netflix announced the next major milestone in their video podcast partnership: The Breakfast Club will now stream live daily on Netflix. Beginning June 1, The Breakfast Club, co-hosted by Charlamagne tha God, will air simultaneously as a live video show on Netflix each weekday. While the radio broadcast will continue to include traditional commercial breaks, Netflix viewers will receive an enhanced experience, with those breaks filled by exclusive bonus segments, behind-the-scenes moments, extended discussions and original content, the companies said.PARAMOUNT/WARNER BROS.:Paramount Skydance is reportedly aiming to finalize its merger with Warner Bros. Discoveryas soon as July, New York Post's Alexandra Steigrad reported this week. In public statements, David Ellison-led Paramount has said it expects the $110B deal to close by the third quarter, or September 30.STOCK PLAYS:Other publicly traded companies in the space include Fox, FuboTV, AMC Networks, and Roku.

"Now Streaming" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories surrounding the biggest content streamers.PLAYING THIS WEEKEND:Among this weekend's most notable new streaming content is Paramount+TV series "Dutton Ranch," a show that serves as both spin-off and sequel to hit series "Yellowstone." Meanwhile, Disney+subscribers can catch "The Punisher: One Last Kill," a TV special in the Marvel Cinematic Universe starring Jon Bernthal. Additionally, Hulu users can watch the new season of sports documentary series "Welcome to Wrexham," which features Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.FOX RESULTS:On Monday, Foxreported better-than-expected Q3 earnings and revenue, with adjusted EBITDA for the quartere rising 11% year-over-year. Commenting on the results, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch said, "Our fiscal third quarter results once again demonstrate continued strength and momentum across our business. This strong performance, led by robust core advertising trends, underscores FOX's leadership in live programming, bolstered by continued strength at our leading free streaming service, Tubi. Against this backdrop, we are proud to be bringing the world's biggest sporting event to American homes with the FIFA Men's World Cup hosted here in North America across June and July. Meanwhile we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering long-term shareholder value supported by our strong balance sheet."NETFLIX UPFRONT:During its "upfront" presentation to advertisers, Netflixsaid its ad-supported subscription plan reaches over 250M global monthly active viewers, up from 190M it cited this past November, Variety's Brian Steinberg reported. The streaming giant also said its ad tier will expand to 15 additional countries beginning in 2027, including Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Thailand.Meanwhile, Netflix said it will air five NFL games next season, as opposed to just two Christmas Day games it has broadcasted the past two seasons. The streaming giant will air the season opener between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Australia, a Green Bay Packers vs Rams contest the night before Thanksgiving, two Christmas Day games, and a week 18 game in January. Netflix will also broadcast the NFL Honors presentation. According to Variety, the new schedule will be in place through the 2029-2030 NFL season.Following the news, JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating on Netflix with a $118 price target, with the firm saying it is positive on Netflix's reach, content strategy, and improving advertising technology. The company's upfront announcements demonstrate progress towards building a scaled advertising strategy and highlight the view of Netflix becoming "Global TV," the analyst tells investors in a research note.Meanwhile, Raymond James reiterated a Market Perform rating on Netflix, saying it came away from the company's Upfronts presentation and Q&A session with several key takeaways. Of note, the firm said the engagement debate is not likely to be settled anytime soon, but Netflix likes its chances with its 2026 content slate, and that ads scaling is solid, with the building blocks in place for market expansion while the Netflix Ads Suite adds more tools. Additionally, the company's willingness to innovate on standard TV ad experiences should be a positive over time, but usually change in the ad industry requires a bit of convincing among buyers, the analyst tells investors in a research note.INKUBATOR:Netflix has been working on a new internal studio known as INKubator that seeks to use generative AI to create short-form animated content, with thee company hiring for a wide variety of roles at the studio, including producers, software engineers, and CG artists, Lowpass' Janko Roettgers reported, citing a number of recently published job listings. The company has not yet publicly announced plans for INKubator, though a handful of LinkedIn profiles indicate the studio quietly launched in March, the author noted.NETFLIX/TEXAS:Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Netflix for "spying on Texans, including children, and collecting users' data without their knowledge or consent." Paxton said, "For years, Netflix represented to consumers that it did not collect or share extensive user data. In reality, Netflix is a logging company that records and monetizes billions of behavioral events-and occasionally streams movies. Netflix uses intentional engineering to track and log users' viewing habits, preferences, devices, household networks, application usage, and other sensitive behavioral data. Every interaction on the platform became a data point revealing information about the user. This tracking applied to not only adults' accounts, but also kids' profiles." The lawsuit seeks to stop the collection and disclosure of user data, require Netflix to disable autoplay by default on kid's profiles, and secure other injunctive relief and civil penalties.FCC/DISNEY:FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez sent a letter to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro saying that the media giant has been "made a target" by the commission. "I am writing because The Walt Disney Company has once again been made a target by this FCC, and the record of its actions against your company demands a clear accounting," the letter reads. "What Disney and ABC are facing is not a series of coincidental regulatory actions but a sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control, carried out through the weaponization of the FCC's authority as a federal regulator and aimed at pressuring a free and independent press and all media into submission. You are not the first target of this campaign, and you will not be the last."WARNER BROS./'UNBREAKABLE':Warner Bros. Discoveryannounced "Unbreakable," a suite of new cross-platform ad solutions from Warner Bros. Discovery Advertising that it says are designed to "connect brands with audiences through seamless, participatory experiences." The company added: "This fan-first approach is designed to move fluidly between linear television, digital environments, and social platforms, ensuring that brand experiences remain consistent and impactful regardless of where fans engage."STOCK PLAYS:Other publicly traded companies in the space include Comcast, Apple, Amazon, FuboTV, AMC Networks, and Roku.

"Now Streaming" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories surrounding the biggest content streamers.DISNEY RESULTS:This week, Disneyreported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and revenue. Of note, Disney Entertainment subscription and affiliate revenues grew 14% compared to the prior-year quarter, with the Fubo transaction contributing 5%. Disney Entertainment advertising revenues grew nearly 5% compared to the prior-year quarter, with the Fubotransaction contributing more than 1%. "This growth reflects our expanding streaming revenues more than offsetting our declining linear revenues," the company said. "We currently generate more Entertainment subscription and affiliate fees and advertising revenues from SVOD than linear TV, and we expect the mix shift from linear toward streaming to continue." Looking ahead, the company said it continues expect double-digit growth in adjusted EPS in fiscal 2027, excluding the impact of the 53rd week.WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY RESULTS:Warner Bros. Discoveryalso reported quarterly results this week, with Q1 revenue in line with consensus estimates but GAAP earnings missing. Warner Bros. noted that the sharp net loss for the quarter includes a $2.8B termination fee to Netflix.Of note, the company said it is "on track" to surpass 150M HBO Max subscribers by year-end. "Over the last four years, we have consistently reiterated the imperative to scale HBO Max as a global streaming service," the company said. "Today, that vision has been successfully achieved. We launched HBO Max in the U.K. and Ireland on March 26th, following strong launches in Germany and Italy at the beginning of the year. With these launches, HBO Max is now available in all of our key target markets globally, and the multi-year international rollout of HBO Max is largely complete. While these recent launches represent a significant expansion of HBO Max's global availability, we also see substantial runway for continued penetration growth in existing markets driven by the core of our product, which remains high-quality content that inspires consumer demand and engagement. Fueled by global tentpole titles like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and The Pitt, our increasing investment in local language content such as Like Water for Chocolate and Dona Beja, and access to marquee events like the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, we meaningfully exceeded our guidance of more than 140 million global streaming subscribers at the end of the first quarter. With ongoing momentum, we are on track to surpass 150 million global subscribers by the end of 2026."IAC/DILLER:IACChairman Barry Diller said he would be willing to acquire CNN, arguing the network is underinvested and in need of innovation in both its digital and broadcast offerings, while expressing confidence that it remains a strong asset if modernized, The Wall Street Journal's Cara Lombardo reported. CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which Paramount Skydanceagreed to buy in an $81B deal earlier this year. Diller said he would "absolutely" buy CNN, saying at the WSJ's Future of Everything Festival that "I would do it tonight and tomorrow night. Before they ruin it any further. Hopefully before it's extinct, which, I mean, it's not gonna be."PARAMOUNT RESULTS:On Monday, Paramount Skydance reported upbeat Q1 results but provided a conservative revenue outlook for Q2, with the company noting that the Warner Bros. Discovery deal is "on track" to close in Q3. Looking to streaming, Paramount said that DTC revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $2.4 B, led by 17% growth at Paramount+, which added 700,000 subscribers, or 1.9M excluding the exit of international hard bundle subscribers. The company added that it continues to expect accelerating DTC revenue and profit in 2026.FUBO RESULTS:Meanwhile, FuboTV reported mixed Q2 results this week, though it reiterated its "confidence" in its FY26 adjusted EBITDA target of at least $300M. "Looking ahead, we are making progress on multiple new integrations with Disney, leveraging the content portfolios of Fubo and Hulu + Live TV, which are expected to drive sustained subscriber, revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth while delivering on the consumer promise of our business combination," the company said.AMC NETWORKS RESULTS:AMC Networksreported lower-than-expected Q1 adjusted earnings per share, though revenue beat consensus. Looking ahead, the company reiterated its FY26 revenue outlook. Commenting on the quarter, CEO Kristin Dolan said, "AMC Global Media delivered another quarter of double-digit streaming revenue growth and robust free cash flow generation. We are tracking to plan across all key metrics and are pleased to reiterate our financial outlook for the year. During this changing time in media, we continue to follow our own differentiated playbook as a studio-driven owner of world-class IP, fully distributed across a wide range of owned and partner platforms."NETLIX/NFL:Netflix is near a deal with the National Football League that appears likely to include the week one game in Australia, a game the day before Thanksgiving, and the Christmas games, Puck News' John Ourand reported Thursday.PRIME VIDEO CLIPS:On Friday, Amazonsaid that Prime Video is bringing a new way to experience content on your phone. Clips-a scrollable, short-form video feed that first launched with NBA highlights on the NBA collection page during the 2025-26 season - is expanding to include moments from movies and series across the Prime Video experience. "As a first-stop entertainment destination, Prime Video offers customers a vast selection of premium content, and we want to make it as easy and seamless as possible for them to discover what's most relevant," said Brian Griffin, director of global application experiences at Prime Video. "Clips gives customers a whole new way to browse with short, personalized snippets tailored to their interests. Whether they have a few minutes to scroll or are looking for something to watch when they have more time, entertainment is just a tap away."STOCK PLAYS:Other publicly traded companies in the space include Comcast, Fox, Apple, and Roku.