Amazon to buy MGM for $8.45 Billion
Amazon never reveals how many people watch its Prime Video service. But more than 200 million have entrée to it because they've signed up for its Prime membership, which gives those earlier shipping and other perks. Besides Prime Video, Amazon also has a free streaming service called IMDb TV, where Amazon makes money by playing ads during movies and shows.
Procuring MGM would give Amazon admittance to more films, shows, and famous characters, including Rocky, RoboCop, and Pink Panther. Amazon will also get a cable channel: Epix, which MGM owns.
Famous for its roaring lion logo, MGM is one of the oldest Hollywood studios, established in 1924 when films were silent. It has a long list of classics in its library, including “Singin’ in the Rain." More recent productions include reality TV staples “Shark Tank" and “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," as well as the upcoming James Bond movie “No Time to Die" and an Aretha Franklin biopic called “Respect."
Amazon already has its own studio but has had mixed results. Two of its shows, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Fleabag," won best comedy series Emmys. But many of its films have unsuccessful to click with audiences at the box office. Recently, Amazon has costs on sports and splashy shows. It will stream “Thursday Night Football" next year and is producing a “Lord of the Rings" show, which allegedly cost 450 million for its first term alone.
The deal, which is subject to routine approvals, will make Amazon, already one of the most powerful and precious companies in the world, even bigger. Regulators in the region of the world are scrutinizing Amazon’s business practices, particularly the technique it looks at information from businesses that advertise supplies on its site and uses it to generate its own Amazon-branded products.
A report by the House Judiciary Committee, states, “For a possible breakup of Amazon and others, making it harder for them to buy other businesses and imposing new rules to safeguard competition.”