A Merger Wave Sped Up by the Pandemic Will Transform Hollywood

The change that has come to Hollywood is speeding up, not slowing down. Two mega-mergers in rapid succession – Discovery merging with WarnerMedia in a $40 billion deal and Amazon buying MGM for $8.45 billion, both in the month of May — should tell you something about the velocity of change that is underway. Here’s an interesting paradox: The number of companies that distribute mass entertainment is dwindling even as the volume of entertainment content being made is exploding. Technology companies that once had no interest at all in entertainment content now run the table. Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google have the cash to do just about any deal they can dream up, if they want to. Other leading players like Netflix and Disney are now left to figure out how they will compete considering the ongoing possibility that the tech giants may continue to grow their footprints in entertainment. And there aren’t that many chess pieces left on the board. I am of course wondering about Lionsgate. And Sony. And AMC Networks. It is absolutely dizzying to look backward and realize that we only just emerged from a significant wave of mergers a few years ago. In August of...

Read original story A Merger Wave Sped Up by the Pandemic Will Transform Hollywood At TheWrap