The acquisition of traditional Hollywood studio MGM by Amazon, which was announced last year, is now over. The companies had announced this only a few hours ago. The European Union Commission had previously approved the acquisition.
In May 2021, Amazon announced a full acquisition of MGM for $8.45 billion. But competition officials still had to approve the deal. The day before yesterday, the European Union Commission green light to take given and today Amazon reports completion,
Amazon wants to make Prime Video more attractive
With the purchase, Amazon is looking to expand its own movie ambitions and, above all, strengthen its Prime Video streaming service. Competitor Netflix is said to be interested in taking over MGM.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio, abbreviated MGM, was founded in 1924 by American businessman and film pioneer Marcus Lowe. MGM’s portfolio now includes over 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV episodes. Famous titles include several James Bond movies, Rocky or The Silence of the Lambs. Popular series include Fargo, Stargate and Vikings.
The MGM team is on hand to complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios and create new content. The existing MGM catalog will also provide more options for Prime Video. Whether MGM Productions is licensed to other providers or whether they are available exclusively to Prime Video customers is now up to Amazon.
Prime has been available in Germany since 2014
Amazon has been offering its streaming service as part of a Prime membership in the USA since 2011. Formerly a purely online video store to rent movies for a fee, and since 2011 marketed as Amazon Instant Video, Prime Video is now in competition with providers such as Netflix or, more recently, Disney+. Which not only provides customers with content from third parties, but specifically exclusive productions (“originals”) try to win for themselves – access to films, series and documentaries is offered for a monthly fee. Amazon’s first original series were Alpha House and Beta in 2013. Prime Video has been in Germany since 2014.
US Prime prices hiked
The purchase is also a good argument for Amazon to be able to demand more money for future streaming offers. In the last one month, Amazon has increased prices significantly for new customers in the US.
