Amazon completes MGM merger, will add studio's films and TV to Prime Video [View all]

Amazon announced on Thursday that it has completed its acquisition of MGM, saying the iconic maker of movies and TV shows is joining Prime Video and Amazon Studios. "The storied, nearly century-old studio—with more than 4,000 film titles, 17,000 TV episodes, 180 Academy Awards, and 100 Emmy Awards—will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios' work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers," Amazon said.

The $8.45 billion deal was announced in May 2021. Amazon was able to complete it without a protracted fight because the Federal Trade Commission hasn't challenged it in court, despite other conflicts between Amazon and the FTC.

"The move comes after Amazon certified to the Federal Trade Commission that it had provided all the information requested by antitrust investigators reviewing the deal," The Wall Street Journal wrote today. "That step put the deal on a regulatory clock with the agency that has now expired, leaving the company free to move forward, a person familiar with the matter said."

The FTC could still challenge the merger and try to unwind it if a majority of commissioners votes to do so. The FTC—just like the Federal Communications Commission—is deadlocked with two Democrats and two Republicans. Biden's nomination of Alvaro Bedoya is pending in the full Senate after a 14-14 vote in the Senate Commerce Committee on March 3.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/03/amazon-completes-mgm-merger-will-add-studios-films-and-tv-to-prime-video/

This will be a big boost to Prime's catalog of movies and TV... I have to look into it to see how much of it I really care about. I know there are a lot of classics but most of those I already have on some other media... Big move though.