I think it's smart. They want more people tuning into their channel and one way of ensuring that that happens is by making something big and attention grabbing and controversial. Like The Walking Dead. Something that you can't get on any other channel. Something that feels edgy and unique.
As we saw with Low Winter Sun, trying to position your new series as "The Next..." in no way guarantees that it'll be successful or critically acclaimed. Making something like Preacher should, theoretically anyway, guarantee at least the former.