Amazon lands rights to catalogue of 4,000 films and 17,000 TV episodes as MGM deal finalised

Including James Bond, ‘Rocky’ and ‘The Pink Panther’...

A catalogue of 4,000 films and 17,000 TV episodes could be arriving on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service in the near future.

On Thursday (17 March), Amazon finalised its landmark $8.6bn (£6.6bn) acquisition of Metro Goldwyn-Meyer (MGM).

According to a statement put out by Amazon: “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.”

Two days previously, the EU’s antitrust regulator gave unconditional approval to the acquisition, stating that “MGM’s content cannot be considered as must-have”.

According to the regulator, business overlaps between Amazon and MGM were “limited”, meaning the deal would be allowed to go ahead.

MGM was founded in 1924, and has been home to a number of cinema’s most popular franchises, including the screen adaptations of James Bond and the Rocky franchise.

Also included in the MGM catalogue are 12 Angry Men, Basic Instinct, Legally Blonde, Poltergeist, Raging Bull, Robocop, Silence of the Lambs, Thelma & Louise, Tomb Raider and The Magnificent Seven.

Daniel Craig in the James Bond thriller ‘Casino Royale’ (United Artists Corporation)

Some MGM films and TV series have intermittently been available to watch on Prime Video and other streaming services, with the streaming rights up until now purchasable on a temporary basis.

However, once all existing rights deals expire, it is expected that Amazon will retain exclusive streaming rights for all the films in MGM’s catalogue.