Amazon Joins Motion Picture Association
Amazon has joined the Motion Picture Association, Hollywood’s leading lobbying group, the MPA announced on Thursday. The tech giant ‚ which includes its streaming service, Prime Video, and Amazon MGM Studios — becomes the newest member since streaming heavyweight Netflix joined in 2019.
“Welcoming Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios to our ranks will broaden our collective policymaking and content protection efforts on behalf of our most innovative and creative companies,” MPA CEO Charles Rivkin said in a statement.
Amazon Prime Video has 200 million monthly viewers, the company said earlier this year. Beyond Amazon and Netflix, other MPA members include entertainment stalwarts Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Amazon’s entry into the MPA comes as the company has continued to funnel money into its entertainment efforts; in 2023, the company spent $19 billion on content — up 14% from the year before.
MGM, which Amazon bought for $8.5 billion in 2021, had been a member of the MPA since its founding in 1923 until 2005. Rivkin, in an interview with the New York Times, said Amazon’s acquisition of MGM “changed the conversation” and helped accelerate conversations about having the company join the MPA; Rivkin had been pursuing Amazon as a member since 2019, the group said in its announcement on Thursday.
Amazon Prime Video and MGM Studios VP Mike Hopkins said the company was “proud” to join the lobby group, saying it looks to “protect creators, content and consumers worldwide.”
The tech company’s streaming service is home to originals like “The Boys,” and this year’s feature film hit “Road House” as well as the NFL’s Thursday Night Football.
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