Amazon Bolsters Prime Content Catalog, Completing $8.5B MGM Buy

Amazon closed on its $8.5 billion buy of MGM (see 2105260061), securing a storied catalog of more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV episodes, the companies said Thursday. MGM’s team and creative partners will join Prime Video and Amazon Studios, they said. When the deal was announced in May, analysts saw it as a way for Amazon to grow Prime membership. S&P Global said then it believed Amazon will continue to invest in its entertainment offerings and delivery capability to attract new subscribers. Parks Associates analyst Steve Nason said in May that the MGM catalog “gives Amazon options" for how it wants to distribute new releases, whether direct-to-consumer, to theaters only, in a hybrid model or in a licensing deal.