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Josh Hawley Says Amazon A Monopoly, Opposes MGM Buyout
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) protested the acquisition of MGM Studios by online retailer Amazon for $8.45 billion. He said that the purchase appears to violate existing monopoly laws.
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A Monopoly Platform
Hawley posted his thoughts on Twitter, saying that Amazon already has enough. “This sale should not go through. @amazon is already a monopoly platform that owns e-commerce, shipping, groceries & the cloud. They shouldn’t be permitted to buy anything else. Period,” he posted on Twitter Wednesday.
Social media users gave mixed reactions to Hawley’s tweet. Those who supported the MG< sale said that it’s the only way Amazon can compete with giant media conglomerates.
“I generally agree with you on most issues but I am not concerned about Amazon ‘monopolizing’ film production/distribution. There seems to be an awful lot of competition in that field.
Let’s keep the government out of things to the extent possible,” said one user.
Another user pointed out the competition in the field. “Monopoly? You have literally hundreds of choices for eCommerce. I recommend Shopify. Shipping – same thing literally hundreds of choices – USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL come to mind. The cloud? Microsoft, Google, Ionos, and many others offer cloud services,” the user commented.
Access To MGM Library
With the acquisition, Amazon will now own “4,000 films and 17,000 hours of TV” as a result of the access to MGM’s library. It now gives it more ammunition to compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney+.
Amazon is currently second in the streaming race with 175 million subscribers worldwide. Disney+ has 103 million, while the current leader Netflix enjoys 207 million.
Content is always the biggest draw for streaming services like Amazon’s Prime Video. Prior to the MGM buyout, Amazon’s media division sparked intense controversy.
Entertainment reporters said that Amazon Studios will spend at least $465 million on a single season of its upcoming and wildly anticipated “Lord of the Rings” series.
MGM Holds Many Classic Films And Modern Shows
According to the Verge, MGM is perhaps most notable for being the Hollywood studio behind the James Bond and Rocky franchises, but its library contains many classic gems such as 12 Angry Men.
It also holds modern popular TV shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and Vikings. His studio also holds the rights to many reality TV shows such as The Voice and Shark Tank.
In fact, Amazon says the acquisition provides Prime Video streamers with better access to MGM productions. It also allows Amazon studios to continue its “great storytelling.”
“Amazon’s media business has so far been a relatively small part of its overall empire, although it still spends billions on content each year.
A substantial portion of Prime subscribers make use of the included free Prime Video streaming,” it continued. “Of the 200 million-plus people worldwide who are currently subscribed to Amazon Prime, over 175 million streamed video last year. Adding thousands of more films and TV shows could be a boon for both figures.”
Treasure Trove
Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. He said that Amazon will continue to enrich the “treasure trove” of intellectual property in MGM’s catalog.
“The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling,” he said.
Watch the Forbes Breaking News reporting that Senator Josh Hawley warns of Amazon, Facebook power:
Loading ...Do you agree with Senator Josh Howley that Amazon is a monopoly? In addition, do you approve of Amazon's MGM buyout?
Tell us what you think about the acquisition. Share your comments in the comments section.
7 Comments
It’s a free market system. The word Monopoly shouldn’t be cast around casually. Amazon has no particular market cornered, which is the definition of a monopoly. Each consumer has a choice to use Amazon or not. There are several options for each service.
Yes it is a free market, but my opinion, small as it is, would be that we need more small business, less billionaires to try to control us, and definitely less government control.
Amen Freeman!
Freeman is absolutely right.
If he has the money leave him alone! It’s a free world ! ( so far…)
LOL BDWW! There is nothing “Free” about this world and the bigger Amazon becomes the harder it will be to stop their total dominance of a “free” market!! You better wake up and take a look at what is really happening in this country to realize that within the next 5 years a total of 10 mega corporations will own 90% of this country if we do not stop it now.
Big Tech is synonymous with Big Government. Where does it end? Senator Hawley & Congress need to pass Section 230 & break these monopolies up. I’m pro-capitalism but I despise all of the mergers. Big business gets bigger & will crush ALL “Mom & Pop” businesses. AND will buy into government policies (& politicians) that THEY support with OUR money. Keep in mind that if you do not agree with one companies policies & WHAT they support that very same company may own a dozen or more OTHER companies of which you may also support. As I said, Where does it end? Do your research & STOP these Multi-Billion dollar companies from taking over Everything!!! BUYER BEWARE!!!