Despite the withdrawal of Lionsgate+ from international markets, Amazon will be capitalizing on the gap it has left with the relaunch of MGM streaming services for the European market- Lionsgate content included. Blake & Wang P.A’s Brandon Blake, our resident entertainment attorney, has the full details.
Building on the Epix Legacy
Earlier this year we saw Epix rebranded to MGM+ for the US market, so the expansion into European spheres with MGM+ International is a logical follow up. Currently, the platform is set to launch in the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Italy, and Germany. It will include both Lionsgate and Starz content, too. Available through Prime Video Channels, it will cost $4.37, or 3.99 Euros. Existing Lionsgate+ subscribers who moved over through Prime Video Channels will get access by default as the Lionsgate+ service winds down.
The Coveted Lionsgate Deal
While the $8.5B price tag for the MGM acquisition was a steep one, there can be little doubt that getting access to its massive legacy content was a feather for Amazon’s cap. Combined with the pulling power of their new deal for Lionsgate content, it’s a compelling dual package. And Amazon reports that they’ve already seen a subscriber uptick on the back of the MGM+ US launch, too.
With this somewhat aggressive push into new markets- and the accompanying search for new original content in both English and locally-relevant languages- comes an interesting question. Will this be the year we see the ‘tech giants’ in the streaming market embrace their streaming identities fully? Until now we’ve seen a defined division between the new streaming-focused companies and legacy Hollywood studios with streaming platforms vs those that moved into the market from more tech-orientated spaces. But both Apple and Amazon seem on the verge of a move into ‘true’ theatrical production for its own sake, with both pledging hefty sums towards theatrical releases on top of content production for this year. One thing’s for certain- that MGM back catalog will be valuable indeed to Amazon if that’s it's true intention. It’s great to see it finally being marketed as such.
