That awesome viral marketing campaign AMC pulled last week which spread actors in full-on zombie make-up all across New York to send the message that "zombies belong on our television screens, not our streets" - namely, in episodes of The Walking Dead - finally reached Dish Network execs, and, surprisingly, they're not happy. The stunt, which AMC partnered with ad agency Thinkmodo to pull off, was designed as a ploy to get Dish to put their channel back on their network, as the company dropped them, as well as IFC, WEtv, and Sundance, over a month ago because of financial disputes.
"Our customers are not looking at zombies in New York City," Dish chairman Charlie Ergen commented during a conference call with analysts today, "they live on farms and ranches." He added that he may have renewed just AMC had the network not demanded that they bring back the other dropped networks as well, saying, "There hasn’t been a time when anyone in our family has watched one second of those channels."
As for the argument that AMC carries hit shows like The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men, Ergen didn't budge. "They’re critically acclaimed but not viewed as much by our audience ... and our customers can go to iTunes and get Mad Menthe same time it’s on. We could pay the entire iTunes bill and it would be cheaper." By keeping the networks off their service, Ergen says that Dish will be "several dollars cheaper" than competitors who are carrying those channels. "And the proof is going to be in the pudding," he continued. "A year from now you guys will be able to make an analysis and say Dish made a good decision or a bad decision."
Or, we can make an analysis now and say Breaking Bad is the best show on television and anyone's life who isn't enriched by its presence is seriously lacking so Dish should bring back the channel and everyone can be happy. But to each their own!
