Skip to main content

AMC rolls out a 'soft launch' of its new Premiere streaming service on Xfinity

AMC Premiere The Preacher
In late March, Reuters reported that AMC was planning to launch a streaming service targeting millennials, allowing fans to watch unlimited content from the network on several platforms without being weighed down by advertisements. As of Thursday, the service — called AMC Premiere — is live, and viewers can plunk down $5 per month for ad-free access to all of AMC’s shows, as well as a curated collection of movies and a selection of exclusive and first-look content.

Unfortunately, there’s a catch: Unlike many popular streaming services (HBO Go/Now and Hulu Plus, for example), you’ll need to be a Comcast Xfinity TV customer in order to do so.

If you’re a big fan of AMC’s original content, Premiere might still be worth it — sure, you can watch The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul (which, incidentally, will be returning for a fourth season) via Xfinity OnDemand, but you’ll have to sit through commercials, and with Premiere, you can view new episodes right when they air live, meaning you’ll be one of the first people in the world to see the ending.

Additional content available via AMC Premiere, like feature-length movies, will be continually refreshed and tailored to complement current in-season programming. Behind-the-scenes stuff like trailers, bonus scenes, and interviews will supplement the network’s flagship programs. For AMC nuts — and there are a lot, given the network’s overwhelming success with shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad — adding AMC Premiere to their monthly Xfinity payout will be a no-brainer. Still, it’s difficult to see many people switching cable providers (or signing up, if they’re not current cable subscribers) just for Premiere.

AMC is calling today’s rollout a “soft launch” — that is, not all content will be available right off the bat, and many features will be added in as summer progresses. Currently, subscribers can access the service via Xfinity set-top boxes and via the Xfinity Stream web app. The network plans to add Premiere access to the AMC app and AMC.com in the next few months, but no specific date has been set. AMC is also planning on creating exclusive content specifically for AMC Premiere; no details have yet been revealed.

Nick Hastings
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nick is a Portland native and a graduate of Saint Mary's College of California with a Bachelor's of Communication. Nick's…
Plex launches its free, ad-supported streaming service, no Plex server needed
plex launches free ad supported movie tv streaming service over 200 countries movies

Today, Plex launched its free, ad-supported video streaming service, with a collection of thousands of movies, TV shows, concerts, and documentaries that can be streamed on any device that has the Plex app, or on the web. Available in more than 200 countries, Plex claims the new service will only show a third as many ads as viewers have come to expect from traditional broadcasters.

Plex has been gradually adding major studios to its list of content partners for the service, which now include MGM, Legendary, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros. The result is a list of movies and shows that go beyond the B-movie rankings you might expect from a free service, with titles such as Rain Man, The Terminator, Thelma & Louise, Leaving Las Vegas, Raging Bull, Apocalypse Now, and The Usual Suspects.

Read more
First Look Media launches Topic, to provide a more meaningful streaming service
Topic Streaming Service Logo

Amid the crowded streaming service market that includes big players like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, a new player called Topic wants to be an additional component in your entertainment life by providing thoughtful and meaningful content. 

Topic, a division of First Look Media, officially went live on November 21, and it’s not your average streaming service. Here, you’ll find thoughtfully curated content: Everything from three-minute shorts, to documentaries, monologues, original series, and more. 

Read more
It’s a teenage wasteland in first photos from new Walking Dead spinoff series
the walking dead spinoff series amc 06

Ratings for The Walking Dead aren't what they used to be, but that isn't stopping AMC from launching a third series set in the world of the hit zombie survival drama.

The still-untitled series will follow two female protagonists as they attempt to live in a world filled with threats -- both human and zombie -- around every corner, and will unfold in the same universe as the network's two existing series, The Walking Dead and and Fear the Walking Dead. AMC released a set of six photos from the series ahead of its panel event at New York Comic-Con on Saturday, October 5.

Read more