AMC Networks partners with AI startup Runway

AMC Networks, known for series such as “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead,” is partnering with AI startup Runway to use AI tools for marketing and developing its TV shows.

Runway’s AI technology will help AMC Networks ease access to standout scenes and generate pictures for promotional use.

The tech will also be used to speed up “pre-visualization” during development, which is when studios use images to come up with the look of a show before filming takes place.

Runway also said AMC Networks is exploring AI to be used for honing special effects ideas.

“As we explore the transformative potential of AI across our business, we see powerful opportunities to enhance both how we market and how we create,” Stephanie Mitchko, executive vice president of global media operations and technology at AMC Networks, said in a statement.

“Our objective is always to use every tool at our disposal to help our creative partners fully realize the stories they want to tell,” Mitchko said.

Entertainment companies have been exploring how to use AI in their processes, which supporters say can help reduce costs and allow creatives to test bold ideas without as many financial constraints.

Last year, New York-based Runway announced a partnership with Lionsgate, in which Runway will create a new AI model for the studio to help with behind-the-scenes processes such as storyboarding. The company’s technology has also been used in series such as “House of David” on Amazon Prime Video, according to Variety.

“We’re building the foundations for a new era of media — the way content gets made and green-lit is changing rapidly, and that’s impacting everything from production timelines and methodologies to distribution models and marketing tactics,” Runway co-founder and Chief Executive Cristóbal Valenzuela said in a statement.

AI remains a controversial topic in Hollywood. Some creatives and unionized workers have expressed concerns about how AI could reduce jobs. Writers have complained that AI models are being trained on their scripts without their permission or adequate compensation.

Tech industry executives have said that they should be able to train AI models with content available online under the “fair use” doctrine, which allows for the limited reproduction of material without permission from the copyright holder.

AI filmmaking technology is advancing rapidly, such as with Google’s unveiling new features in its Veo 3 text-to-video tool and its Flow editing software. But experts say that artificial-intelligence companies need to license content from professional studios in order to take the tools to the next level.