AMC & BBC Have Just Created A Huge Partnership But What Does It Mean For Us Geeks?

Woah. This is heavy.

BBC America posted the news just a bit ago of a partnership with none other than AMC.

AMC Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: AMCX), the global entertainment company behind acclaimed series The Walking Dead, Mad Men, and Rectify, and BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation, today announced a new long-term creative partnership bringing together two global brands that are behind some of the most-watched, most celebrated programming on television.

Under the terms of the partnership agreement, AMC Networks is investing $200M to acquire a 49.9% equity stake in the cable channel BBC AMERICA, home of hit drama series Doctor Who and Orphan Black. The agreement is structured as a long-term equity joint venture, with BBC Worldwide retaining 50.1%. AMC Networks will have operational control of BBC AMERICA, including affiliate and advertising sales, will run it consistent with BBC’s editorial standards and policies, and will consolidate the results of the joint venture in its financial statements.

You know what that means? A Doctor Who/The Walking Dead crossover!!!! Ok, probably not, but this is a very interesting pairing, wouldn’t you say?

Tony Hall, BBC Director-General and Chairman of BBC Worldwide, said “The U.S. is an important market for the BBC’s commercial activities. This partnership brings together the whole BBC and will help us reach new audiences in the U.S., strengthen BBC AMERICA’s position for the long term and create opportunities for the UK creative community. We’ve already worked successfully with AMC Networks on award-winning productions of Top of the Lake and The Honourable Woman and this partnership means we can produce even more top quality drama together. And I hope this is the beginning of us working together on other future projects too.”

While Ed Carroll, AMC Networks COO, said “Orphan Black and Doctor Who are just two examples of bold and original BBC AMERICA content that creates passionate viewers and fits well alongside AMC Networks shows such as Mad Men, Portlandia and Rectify.”

I know this news is probably too “industry” for most our readers (if not, feel free to chime in on that aspect) but let’s have fun and come up with creative crossovers we’d like to see!

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Jill Pantozzi

Jill Pantozzi is a pop-culture journalist and host who writes about all things nerdy and beyond! She’s Editor in Chief of the geek girl culture site The Mary Sue (Abrams Media Network), and hosts her own blog “Has Boobs, Reads Comics” (TheNerdyBird.com). She co-hosts the Crazy Sexy Geeks podcast along with superhero historian Alan Kistler, contributed to a book of essays titled “Chicks Read Comics,” (Mad Norwegian Press) and had her first comic book story in the IDW anthology, “Womanthology.” In 2012, she was featured on National Geographic’s "Comic Store Heroes," a documentary on the lives of comic book fans and the following year she was one of many Batman fans profiled in the documentary, "Legends of the Knight."

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