Apple has reportedly held talks with MGM about a potential acquisition.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal last month, and backed up by CNBC today, the company has considered expanding its current library of content by acquiring a major studio.
According to reports, MGM has held “preliminary talks” with a “number of companies” about the potential of an acquisition, including Apple and Netflix.
The idea behind the talks is to “gauge their interest in an acquisition” after the company has built up a content library worth more than $10 billion, the majority of which comes from the studio’s successful franchises.
MGM not only has thousands of hours worth of film and television shows, but it’s the owner of popular titles such as James Bond.
What’s more, it owns the cable network Epix in the United States, and it’s responsible for hugely popular shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale.
The company made more than $1 billion in revenue during the first nine months of the year, including $600 million in TV and film licensing and $300 million from subscriptions to Epix.
Of course, it’s important to take this report with a pinch of salt.
Though the company has now held talks with Apple, we don’t know the stages of these talks or whether Apple is indeed interested in purchasing the company’s back catalogue, though Tim Cook and Co were clearly interested in the potential of acquiring new content to bolster the Apple TV+ service.
Previous reports have suggested that Apple had held talks with PAC-12 about offering some live sports content on Apple TV+, but we’re unsure of how those talks panned out.
Apple TV+ differs from its rivals in that, until now, everything released is original. However, if the company wants to compete with Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+, it will have to invest hard in new original content or fill out its back catalogue to persuade users to part with their cash.
Do you think Apple should acquire a studio? Let us know your thoughts on social media and check back soon for more news and rumors on Apple TV+, as and when we get updates.