AMC Networks NASDAQ: AMCX, which referred to itself as AMC Global Media during its second-quarter 2026 earnings call, raised its full-year outlook after announcing a five-year global co-exclusive streaming licensing agreement with Netflix for the entire The Walking Dead universe.
The agreement covers all seven series and 371 episodes in the franchise, with total contracted license fees of $500 million. Chief Executive Officer Kristin Dolan said the arrangement expands the company’s relationship with Netflix while allowing the original The Walking Dead series to return to AMC+ for the first time.
“This new agreement highlights the strength of our studio model and ability of our owned IP to create long-term value,” Dolan said.
Netflix Deal Adds Revenue Visibility
Chief Financial Officer Hozefa Lokhandwala said Netflix will make quarterly cash payments on a title-by-title basis during the license period. The company expects to receive approximately $25 million in cash payments in 2026, about $100 million annually from 2027 through 2030, and the remainder in 2031.
AMC expects to recognize roughly $445 million in revenue over the life of the agreement, reflecting the present value of future payments under accounting rules. Approximately $200 million to $225 million of that revenue is expected to be recognized in each of 2026 and 2027.
Lokhandwala described the licensing arrangement as a high-margin content licensing deal but did not disclose a specific adjusted operating income margin. He noted that the contractual cash-payment schedule creates a timing difference between revenue recognition and cash collection.
In response to questions about the deal’s structure, Dolan said the company had engaged with major industry participants and chose a co-exclusive model rather than placing all rights with a single exclusive service. She said Netflix’s existing relationship with the franchise, combined with the ability to offer the property globally, helped make it the right partner.
Kim Kelleher, president and chief commercial officer, said the company had spent years aligning international rights for the franchise ahead of the agreement. The original series is expected to return to AMC+ in January.
Second-Quarter Results and Updated Outlook
Second-quarter consolidated revenue fell 9% year over year to $547 million, while adjusted operating income, or AOI, was $46 million. Lokhandwala said the result represented the expected low point for the year, reflecting the timing of licensing revenue as well as elevated marketing and investment spending related to series premieres.
Free cash flow totaled $43 million in the quarter, bringing first-half free cash flow to $108 million.
The company raised its 2026 outlook, now expecting:
- Consolidated revenue of $2.4 billion to $2.45 billion.
- Adjusted operating income of $410 million to $420 million.
- Free cash flow of approximately $220 million.
- Domestic content licensing revenue of $460 million to $485 million.
- A roughly 3% year-over-year decline in domestic subscription revenue.
The updated revenue guidance includes the expected $200 million to $225 million of 2026 licensing revenue from the Netflix agreement. However, the company also cited slower-than-anticipated subscriber acquisition during the first half of the year. Dolan said geopolitical events and prominent sports programming captured an outsized share of consumer attention, while also pointing to the World Cup as a factor affecting businesses globally.
Subscription, Advertising and Distribution Trends
Domestic operations revenue declined 11% to $470 million. Subscription revenue decreased 5%, as 6% streaming-revenue growth was more than offset by a 17% decline in affiliate revenue. Streaming growth was primarily driven by price increases across the company’s services.
Management expects the rate of affiliate-revenue decline to improve during the second half as new distribution agreements and contractual changes take effect. Over the past 12 months, the company renewed agreements with four of the five largest domestic multichannel video programming distributors: Comcast, DirecTV, Dish and YouTube.
The new long-term YouTube agreement includes distribution for seven streaming services, five linear networks, several FAST channels and potential future placement of networks in YouTube TV genre packages. AMC+ and ALLBLK have generated 2.3 million activations through hard-bundled arrangements with Charter and Philo, and DirecTV recently added AMC+ to its entertainment genre package.
Domestic advertising revenue was affected by a one-time, now-resolved system integration issue. Excluding that impact, advertising revenue declined by a mid-single-digit percentage because of lower ratings and marketplace pricing, partly offset by digital advertising growth.
International revenue rose 4% to $79 million, or approximately 2% excluding favorable foreign-currency translation. International advertising revenue increased 11% excluding currency effects, which the company attributed primarily to advertising outperformance in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Programming and Balance Sheet
Dolan highlighted improving engagement across the streaming portfolio, including a sequential improvement in retention and a double-digit increase in engagement during the second quarter despite price increases. She also cited Acorn TV’s renewed focus on international crime dramas and mysteries, with Art Detectives renewed for a second season and Inspector Ellis returning with viewership gains.
On the linear side, the majority of the company’s networks recorded sequential prime-time ratings growth, led by a 21% gain at WE tv. TNA Wrestling’s Thursday Night Impact reached an all-time ratings high earlier in the month, according to Dolan.
The company renewed Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire for a fourth season and plans to begin production next month on Thunder Road, a multigenerational racing drama starring Dennis Quaid and produced with NASCAR.
AMC ended the quarter with approximately $464 million in cash and net debt of about $1.3 billion. During the quarter, it repaid its remaining Term Loan A and terminated its credit facility. About three-quarters of its total debt is not due until July 2032, and its consolidated net leverage ratio stood at 4.1 times at quarter-end.
About AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX)
AMC Networks Inc NASDAQ: AMCX is a global entertainment company that specializes in the development, production and distribution of premium content for television and streaming platforms. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a portfolio of pay television channels in the U.S. and abroad, and offers direct-to-consumer streaming services that feature both original programming and licensed fare. AMC Networks is best known for critically acclaimed series such as “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Men” and “The Walking Dead,” and it continues to invest in new scripted and unscripted content across a range of genres.
The company's core television networks in the United States include AMC, IFC, Sundance TV and WE tv, while its joint venture with BBC Studios supports BBC America.
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