One of the film industry’s most famous studios MGM may be about to be bagged by online retail giant Amazon for £6.35bn.

The sale would give Amazon’s Prime streaming service access to a back catalogue of iconic content that spans nearly 100 years of film and television since the studio was formed in 1924.

The reports come just hours after telecoms giant AT&T agreed to merge its WarnerMedia unit with Discovery, to create another streaming giant.

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MGM Holdings, the parent company of MGM Studios, has reportedly been exploring a sale since the end of last year after viewers flocked to streaming services under lockdown measures.

The studio, which has hosted childhood classics like Tom & Jerry, The Wizard of Oz and the James Bond franchise, has since ventured into shows like The Handmaid’s Tale which has crept to the top of social discourse.

On Monday, movie giant Warner Bros. Entertainment confirmed it was combining with Discovery, merging Harry Potter and Batman franchises with home, cooking, nature and science shows.

Amazon Prime could be creating a platform to rival Netflix, which has 208m subscribers and Disney+, which has more than 100m.

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“This is a streaming arms race and AT&T is making an offensive strategic move to further bulk up its content in the battle versus Netflix, Disney, and Amazon,” Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities told the BBC.

Amazon and MGM have not yet responded to requests for comment from the BBC.