Charter and AMC ink early renewal deal, providing cable subscribers free access to AMC+

(Reuters) - Charter Communications and AMC Networks on Wednesday said they have agreed to an early renewal of a distribution agreement, allowing Charter to carry AMC's portfolio of linear cable networks for multiple years.

The ad-supported version of AMC's streaming service, AMC+, will be included at no additional cost to Charter's Spectrum TV Select customers, the companies said in a statement.

The financial terms and exact duration of the agreement were not disclosed.

Charter will also make AMC+ available for purchase to its millions of internet-only customers.

"With the addition of AMC+, Charter, through its programming deals, will be providing its Spectrum TV Select Plus customers more than $40/month in retail value for streaming apps and over $30/month in retail value for Spectrum TV Select/Select Signature customers," the statement said.

The renewed agreement follows a template set by Charter's agreement with Disney last year, where the company negotiated for a slimmer programming package and secured rights to distribute Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ to its Spectrum TV customers.

With the agreement, Spectrum video customers will continue to have access to AMC Networks' portfolio, including BBC America, SundanceTV and popular shows like The Walking Dead and Interview with the Vampire.

The deal comes on the heels of Disney and DirecTV failing to reach a new distribution deal, resulting in more than 11 million DirecTV subscribers losing access to ESPN, ABC, and other Disney-owned networks.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Tasim Zahid)