The Walking Dead, Even though The Walking Dead is one of the most popular shows on television, some viewers may not be able to watch it after the first half of the season ends later this month.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, AMC and DirecTV are currently disputing over a contract renewal. During the most recent episode of The Walking Dead, AMC ran an advertisement that warned its viewers about the possibility of a blackout. The television station later released a statement in regards to the dispute.
“DirecTV’s agreement to carry AMC expires midway through the current season of The Walking Dead. We’ve had a long, successful partnership with DirecTV and have great respect for their management team and the business they’ve built. Our goal is to continue our partnership by renewing our agreement and extending our business relationship well into the future. Unfortunately, DirecTV has not engaged in meaningful negotiations with us, which leaves us to doubt whether a timely renewal is possible. In addition, DirecTV is in violation of our current agreement, and it has dropped AMC in Latin America. We hope to finalize a new agreement quickly, but in the meantime, we think it is important to alert DirecTV customers who care about The Walking Dead that their ability to watch the show on DirecTV is at risk.”
On the website DirecTV Promise, the satellite provider issued a rebuttal saying that AMC is not being taken away from the channel lineup, and Walking Dead fans will still be able to watch the current season in full.
“As a DirecTV customer, you will not miss any of this year’s new season of The Walking Dead or any other shows. AMC is contractually obligated to provide you their programming for several more months, and we intend to renew our AMC.
The Walking Dead has been a ratings juggernaut for AMC. According to Deadline, this past Sunday’s episode brought in 14.518 million people. While the total number of viewers was behind the 17.02 million people who watched the Sunday Night Football matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, The Walking Dead did perform much better in the 18-49 demographic. The hit zombie series had a 7.6 rating, while the Ravens/Steelers game had a 6.1 rating.
