AMC Networks Sees 4% Drop in Revenue From Linear Decline Despite 12% Jump in Streaming
AMC Networks reported a 4% year-over-year drop in revenue during its second quarter earnings for 2025 on Friday. This decline was largely due to continuing declines in the cable ecosystem, but there was a ray of hope. During the quarter, streaming revenue increased by 12%, owing to a price increase from the company’s streaming offering, AMC+.
Both domestic operations revenues and segment adjusted operating income saw a decline of 2% and 19%, respectively. Those declines were in large part due to downward trends in the overall cable ecosystem. Cable subscription revenue decreased 1% year or year, coming in at $320 million. The declining cable landscape also impacted affiliate and advertising revenues. Affiliate revenues dropped 12% to $151 million, which was also partially due to contractual rate decreases. As for advertising revenues, those dropped 18% to $123 million because of both the cable landscape and lower marketplace pricing.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that an AMC+ price hike led to streaming revenues increasing 12% to $169 million. Content licensing was also up 26% to $84 million, which reflected the sale of the company’s music catalog as well as executive producer fees connected to Apple TV+’s “Silo.” AMC also saw a 25% increase in digital commitments after the 2025 advertising upfronts
The company also saw what CEO Kristin Dolan dubbed “continued healthy free cash flow generation.” Free cash flow came in at $96 million, a 0.6% year over year increase. Because of the company’s free cash flow as well as its figures when it comes to streaming revenues and content licensing, AMC Networks increased its free cash flow outlook for 2025. Now the company expects $250 million of free cash flow for the full year.
Here are the quarter’s key results. It should be noted that net income grew so much because the second quarter of 2024 included an asset impairment charge related to when AMC purchased BBC Studios’ remaining stake in BBC America:
Revenue: $600 million, down 4% year over year and compared to $555 million predicted by analysts at Yahoo Finance.
Net Income Attributable to Stockholders: $50 million, up 272% year over year for the second quarter.
Earnings per Share: $0.69, down 44% year over year for the second quarter and compared to $0.61 predicted by analysts at Yahoo Finance.
Subscribers: 10.4 million, the same amount of subscribers the company reported at the end of 2024 and a 2% year over year increase.
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The second quarter of 2025 also saw AMC expand further into the FAST (free ad-supported streaming) space with the launch of 11 channels on TCLtv+. The company also saw growth in Amazon Prime Video Channels’ streaming bundles, which combines AMC+ with AcornTV, Discovery+, Starz and MGM+. On the programming side, Acorn TV’s first-ever “Murder Mystery May” drove the biggest month ever for the streamer, leading to what the company described as a record engagement, viewership and a multi-year high in subscriber acquisition. As for the Eli Craig-directed “Clown in a Cornfield,” what delivered the largest opening weekend and widest screen count in the company’s history. The title is now available on Shudder.
More to come …
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