Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy MGM, the Hollywood film studios famous for making the James Bond movies.
The tech giant is said to be "weeks into negotiations" on the $9 billion deal, reports Variety. If both sides can agree terms, it could give Amazon's Prime Video streaming service access to one of the most iconic movie franchises ever created.
MGM – or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, to give it its full name – is home to 007 and classics such as Rocky, Ben Hur, The Silence of the Lambs, The Pink Panther and The Wizard of Oz. More recently, it's given us hit TV shows like The Handmaid's Tale and Fargo.
MGM erected a 'for sale' sign last December. The company was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and has had to postpone the release of the new Bond blockbuster, No Time To Die, no fewer than four times.
It's worth noting that Amazon has declined to comment on what it calls "rumours or speculation" – but that's quite interesting in itself. Not what you'd call a flat-out denial.
News of Amazon's bid broke just hours after AT&T revealed plans to combine its WarnerBros, HBO and Discovery subsidiaries into one big, streaming-focused business to compete with Netflix, Prime Video and Disney Plus.
Earlier this month, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced that Amazon had surpassed 200 million Prime subscribers. The company spent $11 billion on streaming rights last year, including $1 billion on NFL games alone. It's even launched a free streaming service called MiniTV in India.
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