with amc theatres . this article is about the us channel . for the european channel see amc europe . for the asian channel see amc asia . amc the current amc logo launched october 1 1984 ; 32 years ago 1984 10 01 owned by amc networks picture format 1080i hdtv 480i sdtv slogan something more country united states language english broadcast area united states united kingdom brazil canada serbia bulgaria romania hungary estonia ukraine israel south africa headquarters new york city new york united states formerly called american movie classics 1984 2002 sister channel s ifc sundancetv we tv bbc america website www.amc.com availability satellite directv 254 hd sd dish network 131 hd sd bell tv 1281 hd 293 sd dstv 140 hd shaw direct 281 or 364 hd 293 or 609 sd cable available on many cable providers check your local listings for details . iptv at & t u verse 1119 hd 119 sd bell fibe tv 1339 hd 339 sd optik tv 303 hd 9303 sd southern fibernet 1757 hd zazeen canada 85 hd vmedia canada 36 hd streaming media apple tv internet protocol television sling tv internet protocol television amc stylized as amc since 2002 is an american basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by amc networks . the channel primarily airs theatrically released movies along with a limited amount of original programming . the channel s name originally stood for american movie classics but since 2003 the full name has been de emphasized as a result of a major shift in its programming . 1 2 as of july 2015 amc was received by approximately 94 832 000 households in the united states that subscribe to a pay television service 81.5 % of u.s. households with at least one television set . 3 in march 2015 dish network s sling tv announced it would soon begin making amc channels available to cord cutters including amc bbc america ifc sundancetv and we tv . 4 5 6 contents 1 history 1.1 1984 2002 focus on classic films 1.2 2002 09 format change and expansion into original programming 1.3 2009 13 story matters here 1.3.1 2012 dish network carriage dispute 1.4 2013 present something more 1.4.1 shift away from unscripted programming 2 programming 2.1 series programming 2.2 movie library 2.2.1 fearfest 3 references 4 external links history edit 1984 2002 focus on classic films edit american movie classics as amc was originally known debuted on october 1 1984 as a premium channel . its original format focused on classic movies largely those made prior to the 1950s that aired during the afternoon and early evening hours in a commercial free generally unedited uncut and uncolorized format . 7 amc was originally operated as a joint venture between rainbow media and cable television provider tele communications inc. john malone who owned tci and its parent liberty media would launch another premium service encore which also originally focused on older films mainly from the 1960s to the 1980s seven years later in april 1991 . during its early years it was not uncommon for amc to host a marathon of marx brothers films or show classics such as the original 1925 release of the phantom of the opera . in 1987 the channel began to be carried on the basic cable tiers of many cable providers . 7 8 by 1989 amc was available to 39 million subscribers in the u.s. 8 on december 1 1990 amc began operating on a 24 hour a day schedule . beginning in 1993 amc presented an annual film preservation festival to raise awareness of and funding for film preservation . coordinated with the film foundation an industry group that was founded by acclaimed director martin scorsese the festival was originally conceived as a multi day marathon presenting rare and previously lost films many airing for the first time on television along with behind the scenes reports on the technical and monetary issues faced by those engaged in archival restoration . portions of the festival were often dedicated to all day marathons focusing on a single performer . during its fifth anniversary year in 1998 scorsese credited the festival for creating not only a greater awareness but ... more of an expectation now to see restored films . 9 in 1996 curator of the museum of modern art mary lee bandy called the festival the most important public event in support of film preservation . 10 by its tenth anniversary in 2003 the festival had raised 2 million from the general public which the film foundation divided among its five member archives . 11 in 1993 cablevision s rainbow media division became the majority owner of the channel when it bought out liberty media s 50 % stake in amc ; incidentally in august of that year liberty announced its intent to purchase the 25 % stake in the channel that cablevision held at the time with the turner broadcasting system helping to finance the buyout that included an option for tbs to eventually acquire amc outright . 12 13 the following year time warner which would later purchase rival turner classic movies following the company s 1996 acquisition of the turner broadcasting system also attempted to acquire at least part of liberty media s stake in amc . 14 in june 1995 amc filed a 550 million breach of contract lawsuit against turner entertainment which alleged that the company violated amc s exclusive cable television rights to the pre 1950 warner bros. pictures film library to broadcast approximately 30 times between july 1994 and april 1995 charging that turner s objective in violating the contract was to gain unfair advantage for the turner classic movies cable network which debuted in april 1994 at the expense of amc . ; turner owns rights to the rko radio pictures film library and licensed rko s films to amc in an output deal that was slated to last through 2004 . under the terms of the deal amc would obtain the rko titles in exclusive windows . 15 around this time general electric nbc owned a stake in amc which it divested in the early 2000s . from 1996 to 1998 amc aired its first original series remember wenn a half hour scripted series about a radio station during the peak of radio s influence in the 1930s . the show was well received by both critics and its enthusiastic fans but was abruptly cancelled after its fourth season following management changes at the channel wenn was followed up by the lot which lasted for only 16 episodes . despite a well publicized write in campaign to save the series the show was not renewed for its originally scheduled fifth season . amc logo shown from 1998 to 2002 . one popular amc program was american pop originally intended as a preview of a new 24 hour cable channel 16 which ran from 1998 to 2003 and featured movies from the 1950s and 1960s aimed at baby boomers such as beach blanket bingo and ski party . of particular interest to movie completists were the segments that amc played to fill out the timeslot saturday nights from 10 00 p.m. to 12 00 a.m. eastern time classic movie trailers drive in movie ads and snipes bits extolling viewers to visit the snack bar etc. along with music videos cribbed from movie musicals from the period . the majority of the films presented on amc during the 1990s had originally been released by paramount pictures 20th century fox columbia pictures and universal studios . the channel also occasionally showed classic silent films . the regular hosts of the telecasts were bob dorian and later nick clooney as well as new york city radio personality gene klavan from wnew 1130 am now wbbr . another wnew am alum al jazzbo collins provided his voice for the jazzbo s swingin soundies series of interstitials . for most of its first 18 years in existence amc provided uncut and uncolorized films without commercial interruption . its revenue came from carriage fees provided by the cable providers that maintained carriage agreements with the channel . however in 1998 amc began accepting traditional advertising incorporating limited commercial interruptions between films its sister movie channel romance classics which had launched only one year earlier became an entirely ad supported channel at that point . 17 by 2001 amc had also incorporated commercial breaks during its movie telecasts . 18 as a result of this move turner classic movies became the only one of the two classic film focused networks to present their films commercial free . 2002 09 format change and expansion into original programming edit amc logo used from 2002 to 2013 . on september 30 2002 amc underwent a significant rebranding changing its format from a classic movie channel broadening to a more general focus on movies from all eras 19 as well as shortening its name to just the amc abbreviation and introducing a new logo a rectangular outline with a lower case & upper case amc text . kate mcenroe then president of rainbow media cited lack of subsidies from cable providers as the reason for the addition of advertising and cited ad agencies who insist on programming relevant to their products consumers as the reason for the shift to recent movies instead of just classics . 20 at the time of the format switchover the company also attempted to launch a spin off digital cable channel amc s hollywood classics which would have required viewers to pay an extra fee to receive the channel . this commercial free channel would have aired black and white classics from the 1930s through the 1950s that american movie classics had been airing up until its format changeover ; however the new channel never debuted . 20 21 the network also gradually brought back original programming . in 2004 amc aired its first reality series filmfakers ; the show featured out of work actors who believed they were auditioning for a major role in a real movie only to be told that they were the subject of a prank and no film actually existed . a new york times article on the show said that filmfakers may go down as one of the meanest reality series yet . 22 from 2002 to 2007 amc had showed classic films and documentaries about film history such as backstory and movies that shook the world . in late 2007 the network debuted its first original drama series mad men a period piece about madison avenue advertising executives in the 1960s . the show was immediately lauded by critics 23 and has won 16 primetime emmy awards 24 and a peabody award . 25 breaking bad a drama about a cancer stricken chemistry teacher involved in making and dealing methamphetamine played by bryan cranston who had been known primarily for comedic roles in series such as malcolm in the middle prior to the series premiered in 2008 ; also garnering critical acclaim winning 16 primetime emmy awards 26 and is regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time . 27 breaking bad and mad men ended their runs in 2013 and 2015 respectively with the former receiving a spin off in the form of better call saul . both shows combined have won a total of 32 primetime emmy awards 6 golden globe awards and 5 screen actors guild awards . 2009 13 story matters here edit on may 31 2009 during the second season finale of breaking bad amc rebranded with the introduction of a new slogan story matters here . 28 later that year the network premiered its second miniseries the prisoner . on january 4 2010 amc began airing infomercials on monday through saturday mornings from 6 00 to 9 00 a.m. eastern time ; the saturday morning infomercial block was eliminated after its