Hulu bags ‘major’ AMC drama output deal

American on-demand service Hulu has bagged a pair of major deals, one with AMC Networks.

The deal will see current and future AMCN scripted drama and comedy series from AMC, IFC, BBC America, SundanceTV and WE tv going out exclusively on Hulu.

The series, which include much-anticipated zombie apocalypse drama Fear the Walking, will be made available prior to each subsequent season’s linear premiere.

Moreover,the multi-year deal includes unscripted shows from female-skewed WE tv, “a significant number” of titles such as Sleepwalk with Me from the IFC Films collection and “substantial co-marketing and co-promotional campaigns to drive awareness and promote viewership of all series throughout the span of the agreement”.

Entertainment One handles AMCN’s drama programming internationally, with Endemol Shine International doing the same for unscripted, but domestically the cable company handles distribution internally. AMCN’sMarci Wiseman negotiated with US broadcaster-backed Hulu’s Lisa Holme.

The deal is a significant victory for Hulu over its aggressive US SVOD platforms Netflix and Hulu, and the news came on the same day it outbid its rivals to secure rights to classic sitcom Seinfeld.

“This huge partnership guarantees that Hulu viewers will soon be able to enjoy the newest slate of premium programming from some of the top cable networks,” said Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins.

AMC Networks has been the original home of some of the most popular shows in the history of online streaming, and we are excited about this new partnership with Hulu, a growing company that has created a network-branded environment for content in a highly competitive space,” said Ed Carroll, COO of AMCN.