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Jeff Bezos has been desperately chasing himself for years Game of Thrones – a fleeting success that will allow Amazon’s video streaming business to enter the big leagues in Hollywood.
“It can’t be that hard,” the billionaire entrepreneur told his team, as he says in Brad Stone’s latest book Amazon is not linked. Bezos then allegedly divided the components of Hollywood’s success into one of the most important criteria: the protagonist’s hero, “the great bet of civilization,” betrayal, and violence, among others.
In MGM, for example James Bond and Rocky, Bezos may have found what he was looking for. Many remain skeptical that the $ 8.45 million purchase is their silver bullet.
MGM is the only active asset that is considered a gem of good faith for the future James Bond franchise, through a separate vehicle owned by the company along with the Wilson / Broccoli family. This means that for future Bond projects, Amazon will have the approval of producers Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson.
“Barbara and Michael are the ones who decide when they want to make the films. They have been trying to activate the guys at the MGM hedge fund for a long time James Bond in a TV series that can compete Games of Thrones and both have come out passionately against it, ”said a person who knows Broccoli and Wilson.
“They’re very, very sensitive about the franchise. That’s what MGM has when Barbara and Michael decide to make a Bond movie [MGM] get the right to fund and distribute the film. But the real decisions about Bond, the creative things, are with Barbara and Michael, ”the person added.
MGM has a rich library of award-winning films, such as classics Common suspects, Good Bad and ugly and The silence of the lambs, but his creative ability as a film studio is believed to have peaked. Meanwhile, such old-fashioned MGM titles Joana with the wind and Wizard of Oz they have gone after being sold in previous deals.
“It’s not the biggest studio in town,” said Thomas Hughes of Vuulr’s film and television rights platform and former MGM executive. “Does it change the face of Hollywood because it buys MGM? It’s not really. Does Hollywood change its face because Amazon is doing it? Maybe. “
Amazon is making investments in content creation, seeing as the glue between attracting and retaining Prime members. Last year, Amazon spent $ 11 billion creating, acquiring or licensing music and video content for Prime subscribers, up from $ 7.8 billion in 2019.
Through its Amazon Studios, the company has garnered critical acclaim, for example Transparent and Wonderful lady Maisel, won two Golden Globes and five Emmys. Amazon 2017 movie Manchester By The Sea became the first to be produced for a streaming platform that was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture.
“I think they tell you they’re serious about content,” says Brian Yarbrough, chief analyst at Edward Jones. But he added: “It’s a success-based business, and there’s always the risk of spending billions and billions on content – and it’s content that people don’t want to see.”
MGM has been in the hands of financial wizards since its bankruptcy in 2010. Anchorage Capital calls it the largest shareholder fund in the state. In 2010 it began buying MGM’s debt as part of its bankruptcy plan. financial crisis.
“Anchorage and the other hedge fund guys who control MGM will not bring it to the table once it is sold,” said a person who has worked with MGM in the past. “It simply came to our notice then Link and The Handmaid’s Tale series “.
The person who worked with MGM added that it might make more sense for Amazon to follow the Netflix model, which includes paying a prize for the best creative talent instead of buying an old studio, which many believe is behind its best days.
What Amazon will get is a larger library to give users more opportunities. “Amazonian boys are not stupid. Sure, the deal may seem a little unusual and expensive, but I think they knew they needed more content for streaming services and were willing to pay for it, ”said a person close to Amazon.“ Sure, the library may be old and tired but Apple for the time being it’s better than what it offers. “
Overall, Morgan Stanley analysts estimate that Amazon will acquire 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV episodes. It will also win Epix and MGM HD cable TV channels – all the stores that Amazon can build its booming advertising business for today, at around $ 20 billion a year.
Apple was also in the race to acquire MGM, but was only willing to pay $ 6 billion, two people reported on the matter. These people added that Comcast, the cable company, also took an offer but eventually withdrew.
“Amazon was really trying to get a license agreement with Sony Pictures. Eventually they went to Netflix and Disney. And they realized they needed content for the streaming service, which is why they’re buying MGM at a totally bad price,” he said. a banker who does not.
For Amazon, the transaction won’t break the bank and it’s worth doing, as there are few studios left to acquire, according to insiders.
The deal is expected to be the target of political attacks, as Republican lawmakers and Democrats have repeatedly accused Amazon of using its commercial power to buy into companies and future rivals.
“This proposed merger is another example of Big Tech’s commitment to achieving absolute dominance in all sectors of our economy,” he said. in a tweet Congressman Ken Buck, a member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust Matters.
Supervisors are skeptical that regulators will do a lot of things to get in the way of Amazon. While it’s a major player in e-commerce, the same can’t be said for streaming and content creation, as Amazon will continue to compete fiercely with Netflix, Disney and others.
“It would be quite difficult for the government to challenge that agreement,” said Professor Chris Sagers, an antitrust expert at Cleveland-Marshall Law College. “But that’s not what I think is a risky deal. Amazon is in a lot of businesses, and they’re using the synergy of a combination of these to gain power.”
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