Prepare for a deluge of headlines about tech and entertainment. News accounts today suggested that Amazon’s interest in buying MGM—which we first reported a week ago—could lead to a deal this week. As we have noted, one reason for the deal is that Hollywood outsiders like Amazon that operate streaming services are finding it harder to get their hands on programming, because the traditional suppliers are holding onto movies and shows for their own services. That makes buying a studio more logical.
In the greater scheme of things, though, this deal is a minor development in the evolution of video streaming. Bigger picture, a more interesting development is the idea—flagged today by AT&T CEO John Stankey—that those companies which succeed in video streaming globally in the next couple of years will end up diversifying into other kinds of content such as music and videogames. That raises all sorts of possibilities for future mergers among companies across the streaming spectrum. Spotify-Netflix, anyone?
