It was announced today that Amazon has signed an agreement to buy MGM, a film and television studio, for $8.45 billion.
It’s a big deal for the e-commerce behemoth, and it means it’ll have access to a library of content that includes 4,000 films and 17,000 hours of TV.
Amazon is anticipated to benefit from the deal by attracting even more high-spending Prime subscribers as its Prime Video service competes with other streaming giants like Netflix and Disney Plus.
MGM is known for producing the James Bond and Rocky franchises, but their filmography includes everything from classics like 12 Angry Men to recent TV episodes like The Handmaid’s Tale and Vikings. Unscripted TV shows like The Voice and Shark Tank are also part of MGM’s collection.
The acquisition would, according to Amazon, “give customers with more access” to MGM’s works and “empower” the studio to continue its “great storytelling.”
In a statement, Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, said, “The actual financial value behind this transaction is the rich mine of IP in the deep archive that we hope to reinvent and develop together with MGM’s great team.”
“It’s incredibly exciting, and it opens up a lot of doors for great storytelling.”
MGM’s takeover by Amazon was initially reported in mid-May.
Hopkins was said to be negotiating the deal, according to Variety.
On May 24th, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon was close to completing a deal to acquire MGM.
MGM’s sale comes at a time when Hollywood studios are trying to beef up their content libraries in order to compete with Netflix and Disney.
AT&T recently sold off its media business, WarnerMedia, in order to merge it with TV company Discovery, resulting in the world’s second largest media company by revenue. Both firms have their own streaming services (HBO Max and Discovery Plus), which may be integrated into a single, more comprehensive offering.