Those who have been browsing both Apple TV+ and Disney+ since their respective launches in November will know that, while Disney+ has a rich content library, Apple TV+ was released to the global market with a small collection of titles. However, it looks like Apple are making plans to change that with a combination of live sports and acquired movies.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple executives have held meetings with MGM and Pac-12 officials. While the meetings have only been described as ‘preliminary’, it’s been reported that they were attended by Adrian Perica – Apple’s head of mergers and acquisitions.
What’s more, the meetings were reportedly held in February 2019 – a time when MGM was looking for a distribution partner for Epix, its cable channel. For those not in the know, MGM’s Epix was founded back in April 2008 and is the result of a partnership between Paramount Pictures, Showtime, Lionsgate and MGM. Most cable networks now host the channel after a lot of promotional work from Verizon.
MGM bought out the shares from the other companies involved in the channel for just over $1 billion after business complications and merger threats hit it during 2016 and 2017. Now MGM has complete control over the network – which would give them the freedom to enter into discussions regarding a potential partnership deal with Apple TV+.
