Dish Network Scraps AMC Channels

Dish Network is removing all four of AMC's cable channels because it says too few people are watching. Part of the problem, it says, is that the "very limited popular programming" on AMC is "available to our customers through multiple other outlets such as Amazon.com, iTunes, and Netflix," reports the Wall Street Journal. AMC Networks channels include IFC, WE TV, Sundance Channel, and AMC—which broadcasts Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead.

The channels will be cut off from Dish next month. AMC released a statement saying the break-up is due to a recent hiccup in an old lawsuit between the two companies over a discontinued series of HD channels called VOOM. Dish replied to the statement, saying AMC "incorrectly attempts to tie together two separate issues" and that "our decision to drop AMC Networks' channels is solely dependent on their high renewal cost when compared to their low viewership." (More AMC stories.)