Having all those AMC+ shows on Max was a “fun experiment” that may lead to more

If you didn’t know, over the past couple of months, a deluge of AMC shows were available to watch on Max, including Interview with a Vampire, Dark Winds, Gangs of London, Fear the Walking Dead, Killing Eve, A Discovery of Witches and Ride with Norman Reedus. For September and October, you could watch all of these shows on Max, which is great, because some of them are terrific. If you haven’t watched Interview With The Vampire, do yourself a favor and check it out.

In an age when so many streaming services are competing against each other, this might seem like a weird idea. Why would AMC+ want to put its content on a rival service? Well, it’s because executives at streaming services are becoming aware that depending on subscription revenue alone may not be enough. That’s why you’ve seen stuff like Dune appear on Netflix, when it by rights should only be on Max. Licensing fees matter. Getting exposure for big projects matter.

According to HBO president Casey Bloys, having AMC+ titles on Max was a success. “It was a nice experiment,” he told TheWrap. “I don’t know what it means for AMC+, but it is nice to have those titles on our on our service.”

Streaming services will probably share more content with each other in the future

On the AMC side, CEO Kristin Dolan said she was “thrilled” with how many people watched the AMC shows on Max. “We got a lot of exposure for our brands. We then saw uptick, again, in utilization on AMC+ of the current seasons of shows like ‘Dark Winds’ and some of the other shows that we put on Max,” she said.

At the moment, AMC is working with Max operator Warner Bros. Discovery on how they can “parlay this forward” into the future as they think of more ways to get eyes on their content. As the streaming wars continue, expect more of these walls to come down.

“We’re experimenting a lot,” Bloys told TheWrap. When asked whether HBO will continue these kinds of collaborations, Bloys sounded optimistic. “I think everybody is.”

"It’s kind of exciting, because, whereas a couple of years ago, we probably would have said, ‘No AMC shows on here.’ Now we’re like, ‘I don’t know, let’s try it. I don’t know. I guess there’s just a lot more openness. We’ll see what happens."

Overall, I think this is a win for customers. We’ve all watched over the past few years as the number of streaming services has proliferated, resulting in a lot of people paying what they used to pay for cable on streaming services. What was the point of cutting the cord?

As the streaming economy develops, more studios will likely see the value in sharing content, joining forces, or maybe even just getting out of the streaming game in favor of creating content exclusively. The folks at AMC consider AMC+ more of an extension of their linear TV offerings than a competitor to the likes of Netflix and Disney+, which explains why they were willing to collaborate with Max. For customers, this means more things to watch without having to spend money on other streaming services, which can only be for the best.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels