New York, NY, July 14, 2010 ? Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC, the parent company of AMC, WE tv and IFC today offered the following statement on negotiations with AT&T (NYSE: T):
?Our executives have been at AT&T U-Verse offices for several weeks, doing everything possible to reach an agreement that will keep AMC?s ?Mad Men? and other programming from AMC, WE tv and IFC available to their customers. We have been good partners and have been supportive of AT&T since they launched their U-Verse service. We are proud of the programming that we produce at our networks, which has created great value for AT&T. We have agreements with every other television provider in the country and have never had our networks dropped in more than 25 years. We are disappointed that AT&T is publicly threatening to take away our networks, including AMC?s ?Mad Men?, just days before the season premiere.?
On Friday, July 9, 2010, AT&T informed customers of its intention to drop the three national entertainment networks AMC, WE tv and IFC if a new distribution agreement is not reached by midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 14, 2010.
AT&T customers should call 1-877-9-KEEP ON or go to www.iwantmytvchannels.com which also has links to facebook pages and twitter accounts.
Rainbow Media?s national entertainment networks are award-winning and critically-acclaimed with passionate viewers across the country. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced last week the 62nd Annual Emmy? Award nominations, recognizing AMC with 26 nominations, the most for any basic cable network for the third year in a row. AMC?s Emmy and Golden Globe?-winning original drama ?Mad Men,? which made history last year as the only basic cable series ever to win back-to-back Emmys for Outstanding Drama, received 17 nominations and stands as the most Emmy nominated drama on television. AMC?s original series ?Breaking Bad,? which garnered two Emmy wins in 2009, received seven nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Supporting Actor. IFC received two Emmy? Award nominations for its original documentary series Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer?s Cut) in the categories of Outstanding Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media owns and operates some of the world?s most popular and award-winning entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv, Wedding Central and IFC Entertainment (IFC Center, IFC Festival Direct, IFC Films, IFC In Theaters and IFC Productions). Additional information about Rainbow Media?s multiplatform brands is available at www.rainbow-media.com.
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