AMC Networks Takes Full Control of BBC America

AMC Networks, announcing its Q3 results, revealed it has sealed a deal with BBC Studios to take full control of the BBC America venture for $42 million in cash.

AMC Networks has bought the remaining 50.1 percent of the BBC America joint venture with BBC Studios and is taking full operational control while continuing a licensing relationship with the company.

Revenues at the company fell almost 6 percent to $599.6 million, with U.S. revenues down 2 percent to $530.2 million. Subscription revenues fell 5 percent to $316 million, with streaming revenues up 7 percent to $152 million and subs up 5 percent to 11.8 million, while affiliate revenues fell 13 percent to $164 million. Content licensing revenues gained 31 percent to $81 million. Ad revenues slipped by 10 percent to $133 million.

International was down almost 25 percent to $73.7 million. Subscription revenues decreased by 14 percent to $49 million, and content licensing fell 88 percent to $3 million, but ad revenues rose 16 percent to $22 million.

“As we manage this business within a complex and changing environment, we remain focused on our key strategic pillars—programming, partnerships and profitability,” said CEO Kristin Dolan. “During the quarter, we made significant advancements across all three areas. We have generated $293 million of free cash flow year to date and are well on our way to delivering our stated goal of approximately half a billion dollars in cumulative free cash over two years. We also entered into new and enhanced partnerships with major companies like Charter, Netflix, Amazon and others which are driving our company forward as we continue to provide distinctive, high-quality programming to customers across an expanding array of platforms.”