Amazon, one of the most valuable companies in the world, announces that it will buy the MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) movie studio. Even if the name doesn’t tell you anything right away, you’ve probably seen the lion logo before the movies, if not before one of the 4,000 movies and 17,000 hours of television he produced, but probably before one of the movies. with James Bond. Along with the studio, Amazon now holds a license for British spy movies.
The Amazon Prime service could be populated with thousands of productions from MGM
The reason Amazon is buying MGM is pretty clear, following the rapid expansion of streaming services worldwide. Netflix and Disney + lead this market with hundreds of millions of subscribers, while Amazon’s service, although cheaper, fails to attract as many users from outside countries who have access to other Prime services.
Prime Video is less popular is primarily due to the content, which apart from the original Amazon Studios series and productions, is quite limited. With the acquisition of Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Amazon could integrate the entire catalog of movies and series in the Amazon Prime subscription, in order to attract customers.
Among the movie licenses that Amazon buys are names like James Bond, Poltergeist, Robocop, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs or Tomb Raider, while series like Vikings, Handmaid’s Tale and Fargo are also in its portfolio. In total, MGM’s productions have won 180 Oscars and 100 Emmys.
Of course, anything MGM will produce from now on could go directly to Amazon Prime, or shortly after its theatrical debut.
However, the acquisition process will not be quick or easy. It is a $ 8.4 billion acquisition that needs to be investigated and approved by US authorities. In the short term, we probably won’t see the effects of this acquisition. Also, movies and series already licensed by MGM to other exclusive partners will be able to be added to Prime Video only after those agreements expire. Thus, we may not see Handmaid’s Tale move from Hulu or HBO Go to Prime Video too soon, nor may we see movies with Agent 007 in the service offering.
