AMC Serves Notice About Potential Disconnect With Verizon FiOS

Programmer informs viewers via commercial, crawl, website

By Mike Reynolds, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/26/2012 12:23:43 PM

A little more than a month after its services were restored to Dish Network's subscribers, AMC Networks is facing a disconnect from Verizon FiOS.

The contract signed in 2006 between the telco and the programmer, whose AMC service airs such Emmy-winning fare as Mad Men, Breaking Bad and zombie hit, The Walking Dead, TV's top series among persons 18 to 49, expires on Dec. 31. The Walking Dead's third mid-season finale debuts on Dec. 2.

The programmer on Nov. 25 began running a commercial and a crawl on AMC indicating that Verizon customers could lose access to "favorite Hollywood movies and AMC's award-winning original series," with images of The Walking Dead, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. The message encourages Verizon customers to "make your voice heard and act now." It also lists the phone number 855-8-Keep-On and www.keepamcnetworks.com/.

In a statement on Nov. 26, the programmer said: "AMC Networks is informing our loyal viewers who are Verizon customers that we are in negotiations. Our discussions are ongoing and we are hopeful to reach an agreement that recognizes the fair value of our networks."

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