• by Wayne Friedman , May 9, 2013

AMC Networks made big first-quarter advertising gains -- and shows like "Walking Dead" had a lot to do with it.

Sharply rising advertising revenues -- 27% over the first quarter of 2012 -- lifted the cable programming group to $164 million.

Speaking with Wall Street analysts, AMC Networks president/CEO Josh Sapan says pricing of shows, such as big hit "The Walking Dead," are now comparable to top shows on TV broadcast networks. AMC says "Dead" is not only the highest-rated cable TV show, it is now the highest-rated TV show among key 18-49 viewers.

Reports suggest that "Dead" TV commercial "packages" set back TV marketers anywhere between $250,000 and $300,000 per 30-second commercial. Those types of cable TV packages usually include the original airing and two or three repeats of that premiere episode.

By way of comparison, the average unit cost on one of the four major TV network shows is around $100,000 per commercial.

For the first quarter, AMC Network's distribution revenues climbed at a slower rate than ad sales -- 12% -- to reach $196 million. AMC says those gains came from increases from both digital distribution and affiliate fee revenues.

Overall revenues were up 17% to $381 million; net income climbed 42% to $61.5 million. AMC Networks group consists of AMC, WE tv, IFC, and Sundance Channel. Its stock price was up 3% to $66.51 in mid-day trading.

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