AMC is warning Canadians will lose cable access to award-winning television shows Mad Men and the post-apocalyptic zombie series The Walking Dead if a distribution contract between the channel and Rogers Communications cannot be finalized by Thursday.

In a rare move last Sunday, AMC launched a website, called “Rogers Customers: You Are About To Lose,” urging Rogers subscribers to contact the distributor giant and petition for the shows to stay on the air.

The U.S.-based channel fired another public salvo Sunday night during an episode of The Walking Dead, warning viewers in an onscreen text scroll that the popular programs may disappear from Canadian screens without a new deal with Rogers.

“While we are hopeful we will reach an agreement with Rogers Cable that recognizes the popularity of our programming with their customers, we believe we owe it our loyal viewers to inform them of the potential loss of AMC and its popular shows,” AMC said in a statement.

Negotiations between cable providers and channels are often conducted in private, but a report in The Hollywood Reporter on Monday suggested AMC is drumming up a public campaign to gain leverage in distribution talks with Rogers. The current agreement ends on Thursday.

While AMC shows are lauded critically, Canadian ratings have been low. No AMC show has been listed as a top 30 show in the first two months of 2013, according to BBM Canada.

Still, Rogers is hopeful a deal will be struck. And the provider assures customers it will continue to broadcast AMC shows, even without a new contract.

“We have no intention of dropping the channel,” Rogers spokeswoman Patricia Trott said in an email. “We’re disappointed that they’ve worried our customers unnecessarily by taking this action. We’ll continue to negotiate to get an agreement that’s good for our customers and we expect a positive outcome.”

This is the second time AMC has taken negotiations with a cable provider public in recent months. During a summertime carriage dispute with the U.S. satellite provider Dish Network, AMC ran warnings during episodes of Mad Men, suggesting viewers would lose their favourite shows. Dish responded by dropping AMC to a higher, less-accessible channel.

With files from The Canadian Press