Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Epix is heading into 2023 with a new — yet very familiar — identity. Starting Jan.
15, 2023, the MGM-owned pay cable network and streaming outlet will take its parent company’s name and be known as MGM+. The rebrand comes following Amazon’s $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM in March. ‘We have felt for some time that this is the best service that many people have never heard of,” says Michael Wright, who has been president of Epix since 2017 and will now serve as head of MGM+. “Other than individual shows, the service has never been marketed.
Now you have this incredibly powerful, loud name that means something to people. You could spend five years and $100 million trying to launch a new brand, and you wouldn’t have the brand equity that you get with MGM.
It’s really something of a gift.” Wright says that adding a “+” to “MGM” is a signifier that the while channel will continue with a linear cable offering, MGM+ also sees itself as part of Amazon’s streaming diet, alongside Prime Video and ad-supported Freevee. “But we occupy a lane those two don’t,” says Wright, who also serves as president of MGM Scripted TV (although Epix/MGM+ is his primary focus at the moment). “We live in a hybrid space; we are a linear service as well as a digital service.” There’s no plan as of now to offer a bundle that might include MGM+, but Wright notes that Epix/MGM+ is already available to Amazon Prime customers as an add-on via its Amazon Channels offerings.
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