MGM Held Talks With Apple and Netflix to Gauge Interest in Acquisition

[MacRumors]

MGM held preliminary talks with Apple, Netflix, and other large media companies to gauge their interest in a possible acquisition, reports CNBC.

The report confirms another report from The Wall Street Journal last month that suggested Apple was exploring deals for MGM Holdings content, though the talks had "yet to reach an advanced stage."

A deal with MGM would potentially offer Apple a huge catalog of content to add to Apple TV Plus. MGM owns the James Bond franchise and is responsible for multiple hit TV shows like "The Handmaid's Tale," which currently airs on Hulu. It also owns Epix and the rights to movies like "Rocky" and "Mad Max."

There's no word on when and if MGM and Apple might reach some kind of deal, and all companies declined to comment on the ongoing talks.

Right now, Apple is behind other streaming media services. Apple TV+ features a handful of original Apple shows, like "The Morning Show," "For All Mankind," "Servant," and "See." Some of the shows have been nominated for awards and have proven popular, but Apple has a long way to go to be able to compete with the larger catalogs available from Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+.

Article Link: MGM Held Talks With Apple and Netflix to Gauge Interest in Acquisition

 

[I7guy]

Seems like that would be a big win for Apple, if this comes to pass, given the rich heritage of MGM movies.

 

[farewelwilliams]

depends on who is the next bond

 

[Finoton]

Disney better not be the buyer

 

[chewbaka]

Seems like that would be a big win for Apple, if this comes to pass, given the rich heritage of MGM movies.

Except that Warner actually owns most of the storied MGM catalogue due to previous bankruptcies. They’d mostly be buying an odd assortment of United Artists releases, albeit including James Bond.

 

[I7guy]

Except that Warner actually owns most of the storied MGM catalogue due to previous bankruptcies. They’d mostly be buying an odd assortment of United Artists releases, albeit including James Bond.

Some of those old assortment of releases maybe what Apple values for family friendly values.

 

[chewbaka]

Disney better not be the buyer

agreed, though I’m not sure that Apple or Netflix would be much better given my main concern is the continued publication of catalogue titles on physical media.

 

[dannyyankou]

This would include Lionsgate films as well, right? Because they have a big catalogue.

 

[cmaier]

agreed, though I’m not sure that Apple or Netflix would be much better given my main concern is the continued publication of catalogue titles on physical media.

That ship has mostly sailed anyway. I figure five years from now physical media will be dead.

 

[cwwilson]

Disney better not be the buyer

Disney won’t rest until they own everything. I expect their acquisition of MGM to happen very soon.

 

[DEXTERITY]

Just buy disney already and call it a day..all this ***** footing around is getting old.

 

[ghostface147]

Just buy disney already and call it a day..all this ***** footing around is getting old.

You think Apple can afford Disney? Doubtful. It’d be nice to see Apple get some back catalog. That’s what they are missing. Nothing to do after originals are done.

 

[cmaier]

You think Apple can afford Disney? Doubtful. It’d be nice to see Apple get some back catalog. That’s what they are missing. Nothing to do after originals are done.

Disney market cap is only 245 billion? Apple would only need half. They could theoretically do it with cash, no?

 

[chewbaka]

This would include Lionsgate films as well, right? Because they have a big catalogue.

No, Lionsgate is independent.

That ship has mostly sailed anyway. I figure five years from now physical media will be dead.

Dead, no. Niche? Maybe. The studios have all invested in the UHD format, which only really started churning out titles in 2016. Sony PS5 will have a UHD drive, so that gives us at least another 5-7 years or so of hardware support, though I would guess more. Demand among owners of expensive AV equipment won't cease until broadband capacity improves substantially. Even then, they'll own large catalogues they're not just going to throw away. Note the last VHS player was manufactured in 2016--not that long ago.

 

[Cosmosent]

I don't think ANY company would consider a Stock acquisition by AAPL.

It would need to be ALL cash !

For obvious reasons !!

 

[Michael Scrip]

Someday... each major movie studio could have a home on different streaming services... which means you'd have to subscribe to each service to get all the movies.

Imagine if the music industry was like this. Spotify only had Warner music... Apple only had Universal music... Google only had Sony BMG music... etc.

That would be a mess, right?

Thankfully... the record labels get along with each other. You can, for the most part, get the same content on any streaming music service.

But I'm getting worried about the state of steaming video...

It could be worse though. Instead of MGM getting acquired by a giant streaming service... they could have created "MGMnow" for $10/month.

So at least it's not that bad.

 

[69Mustang]

Small nitpick with the article:

Some of the shows have been nominated for rewards and have proven popular, but...

That should be awards. As in nominated for awards...

On topic: as @Finoton stated, please not Disney. They already have an outsized influence on the entertainment industry.

 

[cmaier]

No, Lionsgate is independent.



Dead, no. Niche? Maybe. The studios have all invested in the UHD format, which only really started churning out titles in 2016. Sony PS5 will have a UHD drive, so that gives us at least another 5-7 years or so of hardware support, though I would guess more. Demand among owners of expensive AV equipment won't cease until broadband capacity improves substantially. Even then, they'll own large catalogues they're not just going to throw away. Note the last VHS player was manufactured in 2016--not that long ago.

By dead I mean “like vhs 5 years ago.”

I don’t think uhd is selling a lot. I’m having my home theater updated to 4K on Wednesday and I’m already lamenting that the options for content are narrower than we had for 1080p.

 

[Gsmaniac]

I hope who ever buys it relaunches the Stargate franchise.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Maybe the biggest few companies in the world shouldn't buy every other company out there.

 

[Abazigal]

I am not sure Apple even wants a back catalogue. They would rather you purchase / subscribe to additional content within the tv app and earn the cut.

 

[macmyworld]

Wonder how long the consumer will tolerate a zillion streaming services (as I see the Picard ad here for CBS). There will need to be some kind of consolidation and now isn’t the time to overpay. Apple can sit in the side line with their huge pile of cash and jump in later when valuations drop.

 

[cmaier]

Wonder how long the consumer will tolerate a zillion streaming services (as I see the Picard ad here for CBS). There will need to be some kind of consolidation and now isn’t the time to overpay. Apple can sit in the side line with their huge pile of cash and jump in later when valuations drop.

Maybe. Or it might be cheaper to acquire three players each with 20 million subscribers than to acquire one consolidate player with 60 million subscribers.

 

[JosephAW]

If this happens we could see Brad Wright revive Stargate.

 

[techfreak23]

Stuff like this would make me much more interested in Apple streaming service. At least to get me to start using my free year... nothing else on there interests me.