You can now get a cheaper AMC Plus subscription but you’ll have to put up with ads
How much would you pay to watch The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon? Is nine dollars too much? How about five? Because it, and AMC Plus’ other shows, just got a lot more affordable with the introduction of a new ad-supported version of AMC Plus.
Instead of the $8.99 per month you pay for the regular service, the ad-supported tier only costs $4.99 per month. How much advertising are we talking about? AMC doesn’t say much: five ads per hour, plus sponsored bits over the end credits, tidbits about commercial breaks, and other ways people can try to sell you things.
And unlike some ad-supported services *cough* Freevee *cough* there’s the same content selection as the fully paid streaming service. When you consider that AMC Plus also includes Shudder, Sundance Now, IFC Films Unlimited, BBC America and Sundance TV, that’s a lot of TV for not a lot of money.
Why does AMC offer a cheaper AMC Plus?
It’s all about numbers. Some people simply won’t pay full price for another subscription to the top streaming services, even though they already pay for enough. But if you drop the price low enough in exchange for not too much advertising, you can entice many of those people to subscribe. And the more people you can entice, the more money you can make from advertising.
The new tier means AMC is now a player in the fast-growing FAST (Free, Ad-Supported Television) sector, claiming it has signed up “dozens of advertisers”. It also focuses more on niche markets than on all-genders. Speaking to Wall Street in recent weeks, CEO Kristin Dolan said AMC Plus was “more focused on specific genres and specific types of subscribers.” That targeting, along with not overpaying for programming to keep costs down, seems to be paying off.
If you’d rather not pay full price for AMC PLus, but also don’t want ads, there is another option: an annual subscription. That saves 20% on the usual monthly price, so instead of €8.99 per month, this amounts to approximately €6.99. There is currently no annual option for the ad-supported tier.
Those prices are for a direct subscription with AMC, but many TV providers offer it as part of a bundle, and you can also add a subscription through Apple TV Plus, Amazon, or Roku. It is worth paying attention to offers: from time to time these services offer discounts that also allow you to reduce the cost of the ad-free level.