AMC’s Content Room Plans Show on ‘Walking Dead’ Dogs
Social-first series ‘Vibe Check’ features Reginae Carter
AMC Networks said its Content Room branded content division has some interesting new shows in the works.
Also Read: AMC Counts on Content, Ad Tech To Reverse Ad Slide (Upfront 2024)
The Content Room comes up with ideas for shows and short-form content that take advantage of its intellectual property, its relationship with the stars of its shows and its distribution and ad sales technology to create integrated advertising opportunities for marketers.
One show in the works is The Walking Dogs, a series looking at the dog lovers in the cast of The Walking Dead Universe. For example, The Walking Dogs could look at the relationship between Daryl (Norman Reedus) and his dog Dog. (AMC chief revenue officer Kim Kelleher has a dog named Norman, but that’s another story.)
The content room is also putting together its first social series, Vibe Check with Reginae Carter of the WE TV series Toya & Reginae. Each episode will show off trends, guests and the hottest brands.
The series is built to be customizable for advertisers, giving partners a natural platform to engage with Reginae and her 10 million plus social followers.
A lot of the content on AMC is in the horror genre, including FearFest, which appears every Halloween.
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The help marketers through the twists and turns of the genre, Content Room has named Josh Ruben, a director who has made horror content for IFC and films that have appear at Sundance and the Tribeca Film Festival, as sort of a horror concierge for advertisers.
“In studying horror fans, They go really deep on all things horror and it is joyful for them,” said Kim Granito, AMC’s chief marketing officer and head of The Content Room.
“If brands come on board looking for horror, Josh will write, direct and produce custom films from them,” Granito said.
The Content Room has also been putting together Show Me More, which gives fans a backstage look at the network’s series. Instead of running just at the end of a season, AMC is looking to run Show Me More following episodes of some of its series. There will also be episodes made especially for AMC Plus subscribers.
The Content Room is also bringing back In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin for season two. Season one was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. Hamlin, star of AMC’s Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, was joined by guests Lisa Rinna, Bobby Moynihan, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Dean Norris, Tongayi Chirisa and Ed Begley Jr. The second season would feature new guests, menus and advertiser opportunities.
“Our Content Room originals have proven to be fun, partner-friendly extensions that both delight our fans and perform for our partners,” Granito said.
Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.