Tenth Anniversary Halloween Horror Film Tradition Will Be Available through Video On Demand and
Broadband for the First Time
Monsterfest Programming and Marketing Initiative to Increase Value of MSO’s VOD Offering and Broadband Services
September 18, 2006 – New York, New York – AMC announced today that it will celebrate the tenth Anniversary of Monsterfest with the creation of a multi dimensional cross platform programming and marketing package that will look to increase the value of MSO’s VOD offerings and Broadband services. Anchoring the initiative will be exclusive VOD and Broadband programming to compliment he network’s annual Halloween Programming Festival. The new venture will mark the first VOD and Broadband initiatives in the Network’s 20 year history and will dovetail with the network’s traditional linear Monsterfest broadcast plans in October 2006.
The new multi-tiered expansion will provide consumers with the ability to view select Monsterfest programming of Halloween films, horror classics and specials when and where they want it and will provide MSO’s with the unique ability to provide the popular Halloween content as a value added service to both their VOD Cable and Broadband Content Services. Monsterfest horror films offered for VOD and Broadband will include: American Werewolf in London, Asylum, Blood of Dracula, Carnival of Souls, Class of 1999, Day of the Dead, Eyes Behind the Stars, Night of the Demon, Evil Dead, Dark Star, Sleepaway Camp, Lair of the White Worm, Q: The Winged Serpent, Undead, and Witchboard.
AMC will be making the content available to cable operators free of charge. In addition to the VOD and Broadband access, AMC will also provide MSOs with a series of promotables, such as interactive horror movie trivia games, downloadable ring tones, and wallpaper for cell phones, all in effort to serve the expansion of MSO’s VOD offering and Broadband services.
“AMC’s expansion into On Demand and Broadband builds our brand beyond our traditional basic cable home,” stated Ed Carroll, President of AMC. “For a decade, Monsterfest has been a hugely valuable programming stunt for AMC and by providing this content on demand we hope to share this success with our cable partners.”
“To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Monsterfest, the AMC Affiliate Sales team has expanded the programming concept to become more than just a linear network event,” stated Todd Green, Senior Vice President, Rainbow Media’s Affiliate Marketing. “We have leveraged the success of Monsterfest and built a multi dimensional cross platform initiative that will help increase the value of our cable partner’s existing VOD offerings and Broadband services, while also giving MSOs a new tool to drive more customers to these services.”
AMC’s time-honored October programming stunt offers more Halloween content than any other television network, with 240 hours of non-stop horror movies during a ten day period, complemented by Halloween related original programming and network premieres. Last year, Monsterfest broke network records for the fifth consecutive year, with a household ratings increase of over 13% from the previous year.
The Monsterfest expansion is part of a larger overall outreach plan established by the Rainbow Media Affiliate Sales team that develops specific leveraging strategies to best address the concerns of MSOs and further enhance their emerging platforms. During the last year, Rainbow has established a series of specific turn key projects, such as, The Bridezilla and the Bundle, which leveraged the WE brand to help connect women viewers to cable operator bundle packages; AMC’s Broken Trail On Demand, which supported affiliate efforts to increase local VOD ad sales; and IFC’s Upsell Promotion, which has helped generate millions of dollars in digital upgrades for affiliates.
About AMC
AMC, a division of Rainbow Media’s Entertainment Services, which also includes WE: Women’s Entertainment and IFC Companies, is a 24-hour, movie-based network, dedicated to the American movie fan. The network, which reaches over 86,000,000 homes, offers a comprehensive library of popular movies and a critically-acclaimed slate of original programming that is a diverse, movie-based mix of original series, documentaries and specials. AMC has garnered many of the industry’s highest honors, including 14 Emmy awards. AMC is “TV for movie people.”
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
A leader in the entertainment industry, Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation. Rainbow creates and manages some of the country’s most compelling and dynamic programming with linear networks including national networks – AMC, fuse, IFC (The Independent Film Channel) and WE: Women’s Entertainment; its regional programming service – Rainbow Sports Networks; on-demand networks including Mag Rack and sportskool; and the largest suite of high definition channels available anywhere – the VOOM HD Networks. Rainbow’s other businesses include its film distribution, production and exhibition division – IFC Entertainment; in addition to its advertising sales division – Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation – and its full service network programming origination and distribution company – Rainbow Network Communications.