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. 

RELATED: Sen. Josh Hawley Writes to Netflix to Take Down Controversial Film “Cuties”

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:

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.