Amazon announced on Monday the launch of its new Amazon MGM Studios Distribution unit, which will allow the company to license Amazon Originals and other titles to third-party media companies, including streaming services (free, with ads or subscription) and cable television.
For the first time, titles such as ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’, ‘Borat Latere Moviefilm’, ‘Coming 2 America’, ‘Goliath’, ‘Hunters’, ‘The Tender Bar’, ‘The Tomorrow War’, ‘The Voyeurs’ and ‘Without Remorse’, among others, will return after their first run on Prime Video to be sold to other media outlets.
While the company has distributed shows before, this new venture will be on a much larger scale. In addition, Amazon Originals are primarily exclusives to Prime Video, making it a compelling sell for companies that want popular titles on their platforms.
Warner Bros. Discovery made a similar move in January when it struck deals with Roku and Tubi to license 2,000 hours of content, making titles like “Westworld,” “The Bachelor,” and “Cake Boss” free ad-supported (FAST) streaming. . Services.
The launch of Amazon MGM Studios Distribution also enables the company to handle sales of MGM franchises James Bond, Rocky and Creed, as well as “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “Fargo” and “Vikings”. Last year, Amazon acquired MGM for $8.5 billion, giving the company access to more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV series.
“The launch of Amazon MGM Studios Distribution reinforces our commitment to bringing the very best content to audiences around the world,” Jen Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “With the integration of MGM, we wanted to take advantage of the existing team to expand our business in a way that will greatly benefit our customers around the world.”
Later this month, buyers will be introduced to Amazon MGM Studios Distribution on LA Screenings, an international TV marketplace.
According to Chris Ottinger, who will lead Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, the unit will offer flexible bundles, Deadline reported, so sellers can create bundled content packs that work for them. This strategy is likely to help the company differentiate itself from competitors.
The news comes a week after Amazon announced plans to bring hundreds of Amazon Original titles – including “Reacher”, “The Terminal List” and “Goliath” – to its ad-supported free streaming service Amazon Freevee.
Amazon also introduced new Fire TV channels, giving users access to more FAST channels, such as NHL, Tastemade Travel, TMZ and more.