![]() ”Dealing with Acorn is personal for me,” said Lawless. (The trips have been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic but will eventually resume).Įven the actors on the shows are asked to think about what viewers want. “We listen to our customers to make sure we’re getting it right,” Graham said.Īlthough far from ComicCon-like frenzy, some Acorn fans are rabid enough to sign up for the company’s tour packages, where they can fly to England, visit the location of a favorite show and meet the cast, producers and writers. They don’t need to see a lot of stunts or special effects, which helps Acorn keep the costs of its original programs in the range of $1 million an hour. They tend to be over 45, avid readers, well-educated and more affluent than the average consumer. Later this month, it will launch its first weekly talk show as it faces more competition.Īcorn executives take a handmade approach to developing shows, as data on subscribers and years of direct marketing experience in home video, give them a clear picture of their consumers. Now it’s launching a talk showĪLLBLK was the first streamer to focus on TV shows and films made by Black creators when it started in 2014. The service is now available in a dozen countries.Ĭompany Town ALLBLK was the first streamer to feature Black creators. Ownership gives Acorn the exclusive rights to stream its programs in countries around the world, which will help accelerate its expansion. “We know what our customers love, and there is no better way to give them what they love to make it ourselves,” said Matt Graham, general manager for Acorn TV and Sundance Now. The service, which offers 3,000 hours of programming in total, has six new original series launching this year and nine slated for 2022, including “Darby and Joan,” an eight-episode mystery set in Australia and starring Bryan Brown and Greta Scacchi. In recent years, it launched original productions “Agatha Raisin,” starring Ashley Jensen as a crime-solving public relations specialist, and “Whitstable Pearl,” with Kerry Godliman as a single mom who starts a private detective agency. While Acorn’s niche is well-defined, it has stepped up its investment in original programming after years of depending on acquisitions of established series and co-productions with other international broadcasters. “As competition continues to ramp up in the streaming universe, it makes us even more organized around the principle that we likely won’t be your only streaming service, but we think we can be your favorite streaming service for a percentage of TV viewers,” said Ed Carroll, chief operating officer for AMC Networks. The goal is to be the streaming subscription consumers feel passionate enough about to keep along with one of the behemoths. But they realize streaming is going to be their bread and butter five years from now.”Īnalyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson said in a recent report that AMC’s strategy is a “manageable shift” into streaming that could lead to meaningful revenue growth over time.ĪMC executives do not expect its small services to displace big streamers such as Netflix or the Walt Disney Co.’s Disney+. “They don’t want to sabotage the traditional TV business - that’s their bread and butter. “They are trying to walk a tightrope,” said Steve Nason, director of research for Parks Associates, a consulting company that tracks consumer technology services. When Acorn executives saw home video consumers shifting from physical media to streaming in 2007 with the emergence of Netflix and Apple downloads, the company started planning for the technology shift that has transformed television viewing habits. The company had a loyal customer base when it was Acorn Media, a direct marketer of VHS cassettes and later DVD releases of such British favorites as “Doc Martin” and “Foyle’s War,” the acclaimed series about a detective working cases during World War II. The home of cable channels AMC, BBC America and SundanceTV, AMC Networks is using its boutique approach to programming to compete with Netflix and other larger media conglomerates dominating the streaming arena.Īcorn was ready-made for the task when it was acquired by AMC in 2018. ![]() Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Acorn TV has become a key piece of AMC Networks’ effort to gradually pivot from old-world cable to the new age of streaming. “Our protagonists try to do the right thing under difficult circumstances.” “There are no anti-heroes,” said Miguel Penella, president of streaming services for Acorn TV’s parent company, AMC Networks. If there are a few scenes set in an English garden, even better. Lawless’ breezy whodunit is the kind of video comfort food that fans of Acorn, the streaming service specializing in British dramas and other programs from overseas, expect - dialogue-driven shows with strong character development and satisfying resolutions.
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