Facing contract expiration at year-end, Time Warner Cable and AMC Networks continue to discuss renewals for a pair of the programmer’s services.
Representatives for both parties said Saturday that negotiations are ongoing for IFC and women’s targeted WeTV, whose contracts are set to conclude. AMC Network’s flagship AMC, home to Emmy winners Mad Men and Breaking Bad and popular zombie series, The Walking Dead, and Sundance Channel have separate deals with the nation’s No. 2 cable operator and their continued carriage is not in question.
However, a disconnect could leave TWC subs who are fans of IFC’s Portlandia, whose third season debuts on Jan. 4, and We, which showcases reality series, Braxton Family Values, in the dark. The expectation, according to sources, is that the talks will rub up against the deadline.
AMC Networks has recently inked new affiliate deals with Verizon's FiOS TV and AT&T's U-Verse, as well as Dish Network. The pact with the No.2 DBS provider followed a legal battle over Voom, the defunct suite of HD services operated by AMC's predecessor company, and the drop of the programmer’s channels last summer.
TWC CEO Glenn Britt declared in early December at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference that the MSO is taking a harder line against programming costs and would drop some channels that do not perform commensurate to their license fee. Arts proponent Ovation is scheduled to become a casualty of the operator's stand to curtail video costs when the calendar turns into 2013.
