Amazon announced Thursday that it has closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM. More than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows will now become part of Prime Video, the retailer’s streaming service.
The list runs from the “James Bond” and “Rocky” series to “Fargo,” “Robocop” and “Silence of the Lambs.” Yahoo Finance said the titles give Prime Video an edge over Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max, and expects content to be pulled from competing services as existing contracts end, as happened when Disney+ launched.
Regulators stand aside
The deal was first announced last May. The European Union’s antitrust regulator cleared it two days before the close, concluding that it would not significantly reduce competition because Amazon and MGM overlap only a little. In the U.S., Amazon went ahead after the mid-March deadline for the Federal Trade Commission to challenge the merger expired. Seenit reported that U.S. regulators opted not to intervene.
A studio with a long history
MGM was founded in 1924. According to Seenit, it controls all or large parts of the United Artists, Castle Rock, Orion Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn Company and Canon Group libraries, plus its own output since 1986. The franchises include Bond, Rocky, Robocop, Poltergeist, Stargate and The Pink Panther. On television it produces “Vikings” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” It also makes videogames and several podcast series, and owns the Epix pay-TV and streaming service.
The studio’s recent decades were rougher than Amazon’s. In 2010, MGM filed for a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy after changing hands several times. The studio was reorganized and its creditors took control.
Some of the MGM archive was already on Prime Video, but only as a separate add-on. Folding it into the main service could deepen that library.
What executives said
“MGM has a nearly century-long legacy of producing exceptional entertainment, and we share their commitment to delivering a broad slate of original films and television shows to a global audience,” said Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. He added that Amazon welcomes MGM’s employees, creators and talent.
Chris Brearton, MGM’s chief operating officer, said the studio and its team were excited to join “the Prime Video family.”
