AMAZON BUYS METRO GOLDWYN MAYER FOR 8.45 BILLION DOLLARS

Amazon has announced that it will be purchasing MGM Studios for 8.45 billion dollars . Although one might think that this deal has a very hefty price tag attached, this is the tech giants second largest acquisition, after purchasing supermarket giant Wholefoods. This costed $13.7 billion in 2017. 

Amazon said it hopes to leverage MGM’s celebrated filmmaking history and wide-ranging catalog of 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows to help bolster Amazon Studios, its film and TV division. 

The deal emphasizes Amazon’s willingness to spend deeply to remain competitive in the crowded streaming market. Amazon, Netflix, Disney and other video streaming services have been looking to beef up their content libraries to win over subscribers, committing billions toward licensing content and developing original programming. 

Amazon’s media business has so far been a small part of its overall empire, although it still spends billions on content each year. A sizable portion of Prime subscribers make use of the included free Prime Video streaming. Of the 200 million-plus people worldwide who are currently subscribed to Amazon Prime, over 170 million streamed video last year. Adding thousands more films and TV shows could be  amazing for both figures.