Apple and Netflix Have Reportedly Held Talks to Buy James Bond Co-Owner MGM

The streaming wars continue to rage on and before long, one of the players in the world of SVOD could become a major contender amongst Hollywood studios. A new report from CNBC suggests the likes of Apple and Netflix have both been in preliminary talks to purchase Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, one of Hollywood's most storied studios. After successfully emerging from bankruptcy in 2010, MGM owners Anchorage Capital, Highland Capital, and Solus Alternative Asset Management have started shopping the once-giant around to potential suitors. A sliver of what the studio once was, CNBC says the Beverly Hills-based studio is still valued around $10 billion.

In the world of franchise and universe building, MGM doesn't hold a candle to the likes of WarnerMedia, Disney, and Sony. Once considered a major studio, industry experts relegated it to a mini-major in the mid-1980s and it has hovered in a similar status since then. As it stands now, the studio still controls the Rocky, RoboCop, and Species franchises while co-owning the copyrights to existing James Bond films with EON Productions. It's also expected an acquisition would also include all MGM subsidiaries, including MGM Home Entertainment, Orion Pictures, Epix, and the company's stake in the United Artists Releasing joint venture it has with Annapurna Pictures.

The studio also has a sizable library that's likely the biggest selling point to potential new owners. Despite releasing its first movie in 1924, MGM still only owns rights to movies it released in 1986 and after; the company sold its pre-1986 library to Turner Entertainment, now a subsidiary of WarnerMedia.

Spending for content is at an all-time high, with Netflix set to spend upwards of $17.3 billion on original content this year alone. With the introduction of Disney+, streaming has also become a priority for The Walt Disney Company; this year will also see the release of HBO Max and Peacock from WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal, respectively.

Where would you like to see the James Bond rights land? Think it over and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

No Time to Die hits theaters April 10th.