In late March, Reuters reported that AMC was planning to launch a streaming service targeting millennials, allowing fans to watch unlimited content from the network on several platforms without being weighed down by advertisements. As of Thursday, the service — called AMC Premiere — is live, and viewers can plunk down $5 per month for ad-free access to all of AMC’s shows, as well as a curated collection of movies and a selection of exclusive and first-look content.
Unfortunately, there’s a catch: Unlike many popular streaming services (HBO Go/Now and Hulu Plus, for example), you’ll need to be a Comcast Xfinity TV customer in order to do so.
If you’re a big fan of AMC’s original content, Premiere might still be worth it — sure, you can watch The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul (which, incidentally, will be returning for a fourth season) via Xfinity OnDemand, but you’ll have to sit through commercials, and with Premiere, you can view new episodes right when they air live, meaning you’ll be one of the first people in the world to see the ending.
Additional content available via AMC Premiere, like feature-length movies, will be continually refreshed and tailored to complement current in-season programming. Behind-the-scenes stuff like trailers, bonus scenes, and interviews will supplement the network’s flagship programs. For AMC nuts — and there are a lot, given the network’s overwhelming success with shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad — adding AMC Premiere to their monthly Xfinity payout will be a no-brainer. Still, it’s difficult to see many people switching cable providers (or signing up, if they’re not current cable subscribers) just for Premiere.
AMC is calling today’s rollout a “soft launch” — that is, not all content will be available right off the bat, and many features will be added in as summer progresses. Currently, subscribers can access the service via Xfinity set-top boxes and via the Xfinity Stream web app. The network plans to add Premiere access to the AMC app and AMC.com in the next few months, but no specific date has been set. AMC is also planning on creating exclusive content specifically for AMC Premiere; no details have yet been revealed.
