First, a lower P/E also says the market has lower expectations about future profitability. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to compare the profits of a company extracting profits from an existing cash cow to those of a company in the middle of a market share race. I think AMCX's P/E tells the opposite of the story you're trying to tell.
Second, AMC doesn't make any content. They fund it via production companies, just like Netflix.
Third, I don't understand your point about "forcing cable companies to carry a mixture". Cable companies pay AMCX for the right to carry AMC channels (AMC, Sundance, IFC, &c); that's a little more than half AMC's revenue. The other half of AMC's revenue comes from the ad inventory AMC sells on its channel.
These are probably nits, because ultimately your point about incompatible business models is correct.
Cable companies pay for AMC. They are compelled to take IFC and the others as a condition of showing AMC.
This is how AMCX, the firm, maintains its ad inventory. It doesn't matter if the content on AMC can't pay for itself as long as the suite of channels in combination can.
Second, AMC doesn't make any content. They fund it via production companies, just like Netflix.
Third, I don't understand your point about "forcing cable companies to carry a mixture". Cable companies pay AMCX for the right to carry AMC channels (AMC, Sundance, IFC, &c); that's a little more than half AMC's revenue. The other half of AMC's revenue comes from the ad inventory AMC sells on its channel.
These are probably nits, because ultimately your point about incompatible business models is correct.