![[Infografía] Amazon – MGM: Empowering the Entertainment Industry](https://i2.wp.com/boyaca7dias.com.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Amazon_MGM_El_empoderamiento_de_la_industria_del_entretenimiento.jpg "[Infografía] Amazon – MGM: Empowering the Entertainment Industry")
New York, After several days of speculation, Amazon confirmed the purchase of the historic Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film studio for almost 9,000 million dollars, one of its most ambitious bets and with which it seeks to strengthen itself in a sector of the increasingly focused entertainment.
Prior to regulatory approval, Amazon has agreed to acquire the iconic Hollywood lion company for $ 8.45 billion, whose vast catalog of 4,000 films and 17,000 television series “complements” its Amazon Studios division, so far focused on content for the small screen. , as reported in a statement.
This is the second largest transaction in the history of the e-commerce giant and comes just a week after the merger of WarnerMedia – owned by AT & T – and Discovery, which will give rise to a potential new rival for the other leaders of the «streaming “, Netflix and Disney, already a content” war, according to experts.
“The real financial value behind this deal is the hidden treasure of intellectual property in the great catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with the talented team at MGM,” said Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, in the note. with which he shelled a priori the plans of the company.
Amazon “will help preserve the legacy and catalog of films” of MGM, home of classics from the golden age such as “Gone With The Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz” but especially of the James Bond spy franchises, which some analysts they point out as one of the most important assets for the operation to forge.
The technology company founded by Jeff Bezos is also building on recent television hits that have been offered on streaming platforms such as “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “Fargo” and “Vikings”, which it will incorporate into its own entertainment offering.
And it welcomes the studio’s upcoming productions under its wing, including a new installment in the Bond saga, “No Time to Die”; the star-studded biopic of “House of Gucci,” about the Italian designer, and a film being directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
MGM, which had been looking for a buyer for several months and allegedly spoke with Apple and Netflix, is owned by several investment funds that pulled it out of bankruptcy more than a decade ago and in fiscal 2020 it had a profit of 34 million dollars from 1.5 billion in revenue.
“Through this acquisition, Amazon would empower MGM to continue doing what they do best: tell great stories,” said the large technology firm, which last year alone invested $ 11 billion in film, television and music content alone.
Its Prime Video service, included in the Amazon Prime subscription, was used by some 175 million customers in 2020, which places it as a competitor against Netflix, with 208 million customers, and Disney +, which is advancing at high speed and exceeds the 100 million.
The president of the MGM board of directors, Kevin Ulrich, highlighted in this regard the “incredible transformation” of the studio, which has collectively collected 180 Oscars and a hundred Emmys, and thanked the workers for their effort to achieve this “day historical”.
“The opportunity to align MGM’s long history with Amazon is an inspiring combination,” he stated.
“I am very proud that the MGM Lion, which has long evoked the golden age of Hollywood, continues its successful story and that the idea born from the creation of the United Artists continues as the founders originally intended, led by talent and vision, “he added.
Nora Quintanilla
EFE
