With the final-season premiere of The Walking Dead just a stagger-step away, Verizon is offering new home internet or wireless customers 12 free months of streaming service AMC+.
The offer, which starts today, applies to new internet customers at all speeds, or buyers of a smartphone on a new line with certain Verizon Unlimited plans.
The Walking Dead is set to premiere August 15 in streaming, and a week later on the linear AMC network. (Other shows in The Walking Dead universe are continuing.) The sequence, which has been tried on AMC+ with other shows, will stay in place for the entire 22-episode final run.
AMC+ launched in June 2020 and the company has called it the fastest-growing of the company’s portfolio of niche streaming services, among them Shudder and Acorn TV. AMC Networks has not broken out individual subscriber tallies but says it expects to be at 20 million to 25 million total subscribers by 2025.
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Verizon has made similar distribution deals with recently launched subscription services like Disney+ and Discovery+, as well as free outlets like Pluto TV.
“Enhancing the way that fans enjoy their beloved content is at the center of what we do at Verizon,” says Erin McPherson, the company’s head of content partnerships. “Adding up to 12 months of AMC+ on us to our robust set of content offerings is just one more way we’re able to give our customers unique experiences.”
“Verizon has been a great and valued partner over the years, and we are pleased to now extend that partnership to our new premium streaming bundle, AMC+,” said Josh Reader, president of distribution and development for AMC Networks. “Over the last year, we have seen tremendous interest in AMC+ from consumers and our distribution partners, and the launch of this new partnership with Verizon couldn’t be better timed.”
Some of the programming on AMC+ corresponds with what airs on AMC, but the streaming outlet also draws originals from BBC America, IFC and SundanceTV. The company’s sister streamers Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited also feed AMC+.
