Over the last several years the studio landscape has changed significantly. Partnerships that fifteen years ago people would have thought impossible are now just business as usual on a Tuesday. Disney acquiring Fox is the most prominent recent example. Warner Bros. partnering with HBO Max is another. Bottom line is that studios who don't foster strong partnerships run the risk of drowning. Apparently MGM recognizes this fact as the studio is beginning to entertain offers from major streamers regarding their content.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which has been a prominent Hollywood studio since 1924, has entered into preliminary talks with several media corporations including Netflix and Apple. The purpose of these talks is to put up some of MGM's major content properties for acquisition. MGM's content carries with it quite an impressive catalog. Both the ROCKY and Bond franchises fall under the MGM umbrella. In addition, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produces some incredibly popular television shows such as Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale. In addition, MGM raked in just about $1 billion in revenue in the first nine months of last year. That's quite the enticing morsel for hungry potential buyers.
While I understand MGM's move and I can't say I'm surprised, the news does sadden me. It seems like more and more companies are getting swallowed up by larger sharks. Pretty soon audiences are only going to be able to turn to a few major conglomerates for entertainment. There needs to be room for fresh ideas and innovation. It will be harder and harder to find those unique ideas if artists are asked to toe the company line. Then again both Apple and Netflix are working hard to produce original content so I could just be overreacting.
If I had to guess I'd say that Netflix comes out on top in these negotiations. They've already demonstrated their willingness to throw trucks full of money at content. I just feel like they're ahead of the game in comparison to Apple. Apple's streaming service – Apple TV+ – just launched a few months ago, so it's still in it's infancy. I've no doubt that Apple will soon become a major player. I just don't think they are on Netflix's level yet.
So what do you guys think of this news? Are you disappointed? Excited at the prospect of seeing Bond on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!