Amazon is investing even more money and resources to increase its position and influence in the world of entertainment. The company has just announced that it has closed a deal to acquire MGM, the producer of the legendary secret agent James Bond and one of the most emblematic film studios in Hollywood.
The deal, valued at more than €8 billion, gives Amazon an extensive library of movies and TV shows that it can use to fill its Prime Video streaming platform’s content offering. MGM has a catalog of more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 television shows.
More than 20,000 new contents available
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos assured that the company is “really excited about MGM” in his speech during the company’s last annual meeting of shareholders. “The acquisitions thesis here is really quite simple: MGM has a vast and deep catalog of very valuable intellectual property,” Bezos said, “and with the people and talent at MGM, and the people and talent at Amazon Studios, we can reimagine and develop all that intellectual property throughout the 21st century.”
The two companies said completion of the deal “is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.” Although streaming is a small part of Amazon’s empire, lately the company has focused on becoming a bigger player in the world of entertainment. For example, it is investing and working to bring a long-awaited series based on the hit “Lord of the Rings” saga to the small screen.
MGM y 007
Prime Video, which also has numerous hit and industry award-winning series, has more than 200 million subscribers on its platform. Those kinds of numbers make it a direct competitor of Netflix, another of the giants in the sector, with 208 million subscribers worldwide.
Although MGM’s famous roaring lion logo has appeared on most of Hollywood’s most famous and memorable movies, the company does not own the movie franchises that have really broken the bank in the world of cinema. So why would Amazon want MGM? Three words: Bond, James Bond.
The studio owns a part of the spy franchise, one of the most famous movie series in Hollywood. The Bond brand, which also controls Eon Productions, is more than a box office success story that has grossed billions of dollars over the past 60 years. The movies and their main character also represent a lifestyle that spreads throughout the world and pop culture. If Prime Video is the new home of James Bond, it’s an attractive proposition for potential consumers.
