We are knee-deep into the Streaming Wars and much like its real-life counterpart, the battle for dominance relies a lot on the arsenal that each side has in its possession. Except, in this war, the arsenal isn’t comprised of guns and bombs, but instead content. And the platform with the best content is going to be the one that wins. At least, that’s what many are predicting. That’s why we saw Disney purchase Fox in 2019. There’s an arms race going on. And MGM is apparently ready to offer its services in the battle.
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According to a new report from CNBC, MGM is putting out inquiries to companies like Netflix and Apple about possibly being acquired by the larger companies. While it doesn’t appear that a deal is imminent, this report signals that MGM is ready to be purchased, and the studio’s library might fetch upwards of $10 billion in a deal.
MGM’s library famously includes hits like “Rocky,” “Mad Max,” and the James Bond catalog. Now, many will see James Bond and think, “That’s huge!” but that’s not necessarily the case. The rights for the ‘Bond’ films are a bit messy with Eon controlling half of the rights to the character’s films as well. However, if a company wants to get into the ‘Bond’ business, partially at least, then MGM does have a large stake in 007.
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As far as the two companies that have been reportedly courted by MGM about a possible acquisition, Netflix and Apple, both seem like good fits for the studio. However, in the case of Apple, owning MGM could add a much-needed boost to the tech company’s recent streaming efforts. Unlike Netflix (and the rest of the streaming competition), Apple doesn’t have a huge library of titles to entice potential subscribers with. As of now, Apple TV+ has to survive based on its original programming, which is sparse and of incredibly spotty quality. Just having more things to offer customers is always better. And MGM provides that.
Also, let’s not forget the Hollywood elephant in the room, Disney. Of all the major studios working today, Disney is seen as the big dog and has streaming services (Hulu and Disney+) that could benefit from MGM’s library. Also, there’s that little quote from last year where CEO Bob Iger teased that he’d be interested in owning the rights to James Bond.
So, while it appears that MGM being acquired by another company isn’t going to happen tomorrow, just having the studio put feelers out to some of the big companies is interesting and could play a huge role in the Streaming Wars. Let alone what happens to the future of James Bond. We’ll just have to wait and see.
