High ratings are no longer enough for advertisers, or so said Josh Sapan, CEO of AMC Networks, at Wednesday’s Barclays’ Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference—now they want viewer passion too. By “passionate viewers” Sapan meant the kind who only watch two or three shows, but watch them with unwavering devotion and watch all of them, sometimes all at once. Binge-viewing has encouraged this kind of passion, with viewers getting hooked then using VOD to absorb every episode of a series in one or two sittings.

Sapan also mentioned the frenzy that occurs for some shows over social media. While this trend has yet to register with advertisers as strongly as high ratings do, it is a sign of that elusive passion, and may prove to be the most important driver of a series’ value.

Read more about AMC Network’s CEO comments on Deadline.

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