Raise your vodka martini, Amazon buys MGM

Not much time goes past these days without media news, and the movie industry is in a constant state of change at this time. Is that a good thing? It depends what you’re looking for. 

Today if that happens to be Bond, James Bond, then you’ll want think about signing up to Amazon Prime in the future -- if you haven't already -- as that’s where 007 will be moving to, along with Elle Woods and Rocky Balboa, and a plethora of other MGM properties.

The retailer paid $8.45 billion for Metro Goldwyn Mayer and its considerable catalog of over 4,000 classics which includes 12 Angry Men, Basic Instinct, James Bond, Legally Blonde, Poltergeist, Raging Bull, Robocop, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs, The Magnificent Seven, The Pink Panther, and many more.

"We view the deal positively for Amazon, as it furthers their efforts to add new content to the Amazon Prime Video offering," writes Cowen & Company analyst John Blackledge in a note to clients. 

Amazon claims it reaches 120 million active users per month, an impressive number and one that will only grow thanks to the acquisition of MGM. 

There are lots of existing licensing deals in play so don’t expect to see Bond, or other MGM properties, on Amazon Prime any time soon, but they will begin to show up in time.