And the LAT, protecting its turf, has the best single piece on this story.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-05-26/why-amazon-buying-mgm-s-a-watershed-moment-for-hollywood-and-tech On Wed, 26 May 2021 at 6:37 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > The NYT article has a little more background info. It restates the > Broccoli’s continued control of Bond development - though I still suspect > their agreement to letting Amazon do that had to be part of such a hefty > price. They also remind that in the new age of multiple streamers, studios > are charging a hell of a lot more for content than they very recently did > (something Netflix foresaw a long time ago). > > But they point out a reason MGM content would be worth more to Amazon than > to other streamers: Prime. Not the monthly fee, but the fact that customers > with Prime buy about $3000 more stuff every year from Amazon than those > without. If Bond got Amazon ~150,000 more Prime Members, Amazon could make > almost half a billion dollars more each year, making up the premium for MGM > in under a decade. No other streamer has a revenue multiplier like that. > > The NYT also points out that one reason Amazon bought MGM is “because it > can”. Amazon has “$71 billion in cash and a market capitalization of > $1.64 trillion.” They can almost get the cash for the full price by making > an ATM withdrawal. > > > https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/26/business/amazon-MGM.html > > > On Wed, 26 May 2021 at 6:01 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > >> And the deal is now done - final price a bargain ay $9.45 Billion. >> >> This does include Fargo and Handmaid’s Tale. >> >> The article does explicitly quote Mike Hopkins, senior VP of Prime Video >> and Amazon Studios as saying: “The real financial value behind this deal is >> the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and >> develop together with MGM’s talented team.” >> >> This does confirm for me that the streamers are seeing that Disney has >> established that the way to succeed is to establish as anchors a few >> popular film franchises, not primarily to rerun, but to spin off serialized >> television programs. >> >> The price (almost double what MGM was valued at by other suitors) to me >> has to mean that the Broccoli’s have either surrendered their control over >> the use of Bond, or agreed to allow MGM to develop several Bond-based >> series, though this is not mentioned in the article. >> >> >> https://deadline.com/2021/05/amazon-to-buy-mgm-for-8-45-billion-merger-1234764306/ >> >> >> On Mon, 24 May 2021 at 4:26 PM Mark Jeffries <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> Nope. They were in development before he took over. More >>> responsibility should be given to former NBC exec Warren Littlefield, whose >>> production company makes them for MGM. >>> >>> And it should be pointed out that Burnett never owned his biggest hits >>> outright--CBS owns big pieces of "Survivor," "The Voice" is co-produced by >>> Warners and ITV (the latter owns the format after buying out John DeMol's >>> Talpa Media) and Sony controls the "Shark Tank" format. And "The >>> Apprentice" was co-owned by Donald J. Trump. >>> >>> On Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:34 PM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> But does MGM own the rights to HT and Fargo now through him? >>>> >>>> On Sat, 22 May 2021 at 12:10 PM Mark Jeffries <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> MGM bought Mark Burnett's production company and then put him in >>>>> charge of television in the hopes that he would spawn the next big reality >>>>> hit. That hasn't happened yet. His attempts at faith-based scripted >>>>> programming failed, his LightTV subchannel was sold to Byron Allen who >>>>> replaced it with the Black-oriented GriotTV (with Gizmodo Media) and >>>>> though >>>>> he claims responsibility for the prestige scripted shows "Handmaid's Tale" >>>>> and "Fargo," most people say no. >>>>> >>>>> On Sat, May 22, 2021, 9:34 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> So when you first hear Amazon wants to buy MGM, you assume it is to >>>>>> get James Bond. Makes sense; streaming is about content, and there is no >>>>>> film content as consistently attractive as Bond. But this article hints >>>>>> at >>>>>> something else. Amazon is valuing MGM at around $4 BILLION more than >>>>>> anyone >>>>>> else; that’s got to be more than just a disagreement over how many >>>>>> streams >>>>>> Goldfinger will generate. >>>>>> >>>>>> I can see Amazon paying a premium for reliable franchise content >>>>>> (Disney became the second biggest player in streaming overnight). But >>>>>> this >>>>>> only makes sense if it buys unrestricted rights to exploit Bond, and even >>>>>> then, perhaps some additional value not readily apparent >>>>>> >>>>>> It is possible Amazon has someone locked up they want to be the next >>>>>> Bond. Also (as suggested in this article) they may have a plan to do to >>>>>> Bond what Disney is doing to SW and MCU and spin off episodic series >>>>>> (Maybe >>>>>> a show about Moneypenny or Q, or other Double Os). Any extra Bond based >>>>>> appeal would require the cooperation of the Broccoli family, which is >>>>>> unpredictable, and does not seem like the basis for an extra $4B bet >>>>>> (though maybe the extra cash is the incentive to get them to sign a blank >>>>>> check up front in licensing). >>>>>> >>>>>> But I wonder if Amazon is also seeing content value in other parts of >>>>>> MGM. The article says MGM produces The Voice and Survivor (which seems >>>>>> surprising to me). These seem like the kinds of content a streamer like >>>>>> Amazon would love to have some kind of special relationship with, as they >>>>>> offer chances for cross promotion and exclusive bonus features. >>>>>> >>>>>> On Fri, 21 May 2021 at 7:43 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> >>>>>> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> There could be a monkey-wrench in the Amazon deal. His name? Bond… >>>>>>> James Bond >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> https://variety.com/2021/film/news/mgm-amazon-james-bond-sale-1234979005/amp/ >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Wed, May 19, 2021 at 9:43 AM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> >>>>>>> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 7:34 PM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV < >>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> For about $9bil, sources told Variety... the venerable studio's >>>>>>>>> been on the block since December... >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/amazon-mgm-acquisition-talks-9-billion-1234975168/ >>>>>>>>> (link) >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> The venerable studio became a real estate business in the late 60s. >>>>>>>> They were happy to sell their logos and trademarks as well as rights >>>>>>>> to the >>>>>>>> MGM film library. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>>> send an email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiEm6zkxiWw%3Dw%2B7EiZeher61B9dEmq4DdEnpE69YDW%3D%3DWA%40mail.gmail.com >>>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiEm6zkxiWw%3Dw%2B7EiZeher61B9dEmq4DdEnpE69YDW%3D%3DWA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>>>>> . >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> Kevin M. 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