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    The Information reports, that the FTC has opened a probe into the Amazon-MGM deal:

    The Federal Trade Commission on Friday opened an in-depth investigation into the deal, [...] setting the stage for a lengthy probe that could last six months or more.
    In May 2021, Senator Amy Klobuchar (Democratic Party, MN) called the Department of Justice to probe the deal, and Republicans seem to be rather happy about it. (Story at The Verge)

    For context, Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon and a huge fan of all things space, owns The Washington Post, a major thorn in the eye of the Republican Party. Both the Democrats and Republicans are probably worried about midterm elections, up in 2022.

    So this is simply politicking, because the streaming market is already very crowded, and competition is heating up anyway.

    As far as I can see, while the probe was not unexpected, it delays closing the deal, while any Stargate film/tv project also remains delayed.

    That Republicans are supporting an investigation into the deal, is strange in my view, because any Stargate film/tv project is delayed as a result of this probe, and Stargate as military science fiction has been very pro-American.

    I guess 2022 won't be the year of Stargate after all.
    Last edited by Mardus; 31 October 2021, 11:38 PM. Reason: Reworded for clarity
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    Comment


      Originally posted by Mardus View Post
      As far as I can see, while the probe was not unexpected, it delays closing the deal, while any Stargate film/tv project also remains delayed.

      That Republicans are supporting an investigation into the deal, is strange in my view, because any Stargate film/tv project is delayed as a result of this probe, and Stargate as military science fiction has been very pro-American.

      I guess 2022 won't be the year of Stargate after all.
      I don't think any of the congress members involved in the probe, give a flying fudge ball about Stargate, or that they have given it, even a fleeting thought when making their decision to start the probe or support it. Which is fine by me, since a silly scifi franchise should not take priority over the over sight of possible monopolies. Amy Klobuchar has a chair on the committee that supposedly oversees, competition in digital markets, so this actually makes sense. The strangest thing here is that politicians are actually doing their job. Antitrust laws have gone largely ignored for decades, and Amazon has ownership of many major companies across many different industries. You don't ever want to end up, working for the same company, you get your groceries, your news, and your entertainment from, that's share cropping and it's a form of slavery. But since , antitrust laws go are often ignored as I mentioned before, that's the reality more and more people will find themselves in. This is definitely politicking, I'm sure the deal will go through eventually as soon as they've made a good show of it, and amazon's lobbyist have stuffed plenty of goodies in their pockets.
      Last edited by Ohmy Desalad; 02 November 2021, 11:53 AM.

      Comment


        Originally posted by Ohmy Desalad View Post
        ...give a flying fudge ball...

        Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

        Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

        Comment


          Originally posted by Ohmy Desalad View Post

          I don't think any of the congress members involved in the probe, give a flying fudge ball about Stargate, or that they have given it, even a fleeting thought when making their decision to start the probe or support it.
          Not only don't they care, I'm pretty sure that the majority of politicians probably never even heard of the show.
          If we were talking about a franchise like Star Trek, they might say something like "oh yeah, Star Trek, that's the one with Darth Vader right?" and by saying so, succeed in even screwing that one up.

          But Stargate? Nope.
          Although for me Stargate is my favorite Scifi-franchise, or I wouldn't be here, I think we shouldn't overestimate the popularity of the franchise in the grander scheme of things, especially taking into account a segment of society like politicians.

          Comment


            Originally posted by DrMckay View Post
            Although for me Stargate is my favorite Scifi-franchise, or I wouldn't be here, I think we shouldn't overestimate the popularity of the franchise in the grander scheme of things, especially taking into account a segment of society like politicians.
            Stargate is probably the only star-show nobody knows about.
            Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

            Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

            Comment


              Originally posted by Ohmy Desalad View Post
              The strangest thing here is that politicians are actually doing their job.
              When elections are up soon (next year), then you can bet that they are trying to look like dOiNg sOmEtHinG.

              Originally posted by Ohmy Desalad View Post
              Antitrust laws have gone largely ignored for decades,
              You forgot the huge lawsuit against Microsoft over Windows 98.

              Originally posted by Ohmy Desalad View Post
              and Amazon has ownership of many major companies across many different industries. You don't ever want to end up, working for the same company, you get your groceries, your news, and your entertainment from, ...
              Amazon is not the only employer, not the only grocer, and not the only source of news and entertainment.

              Originally posted by Ohmy Desalad View Post
              ... that's share cropping and it's a form of slavery.
              Amazon is not holding people hostage, and everyone can quit whenever they so please.

              Working conditions are another matter, which Amazon must always be investigated for.

              But working conditions do not relate to "large company owning many companies". The existence of large concerns is as old as the complex organisation of society itself. Complexity of society cannot be undone.

              Originally posted by Ohmy Desalad View Post
              But since , antitrust laws go are often ignored as I mentioned before, ...
              This usually happens when companies steer clear of violating them, or when politicians and officials do not pay attention to specific violations not actually related to ownership, such as violating the labour code, any rules related to employee health and well-being, then limiting the repairability of products, or limiting access to services on the basis of planned obsolescence (such as limiting certain other browsers or browser engines from loading a site quickly).

              Laws in advanced economies, which includes the United States, are either not comprehensive enough, or not enforced with the due diligence that they should be.

              Other laws are too ambiguously worded, and are usually designed to extort money out companies.

              Buying and owning other companies is not prohibited as such, and is a very widespread phenomenon in business.
              Last edited by Mardus; 05 November 2021, 02:02 AM. Reason: Code fix
              • I'm a fan of this awesome Trek webcomic: betafleet.tumblr.com (archived)
              • Eesti on ilus, ja troppide parteide poliitikud pole enam Raudse Leedi valitsuses.
              • I chose the Gate avatar, because it was difficult to choose between SGU character pictures of someone who I thought I was like, and someone who I was fond of. :>

              Comment


                Originally posted by Mardus View Post
                Amazon is not the only employer, not the only grocer, and not the only source of news and entertainment.

                [snip...]

                Buying and owning other companies is not prohibited as such, and is a very widespread phenomenon in business.
                But monopolies are frowned upon...

                In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power to charge overly high prices, which is associated with a decrease in social surplus. ... A monopoly may also have monopsony control of a sector of a market.
                Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

                Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

                Comment


                  Originally posted by Falcon Horus View Post
                  But monopolies are frowned upon...
                  We wanted a large company to purchase MGM, so that there would be impetus and financing to create more Stargate content.

                  Therefore it's quite a bit ironic to cry "waa, waa, Amazon big monopoly, Amazon bad!!11" from somewhere back in the room, and then hope for Amazon to invest in MGM to produce Stargate content.

                  Originally posted by Falcon Horus View Post
                  In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power to charge overly high prices, which is associated with a decrease in social surplus. ... A monopoly may also have monopsony control of a sector of a market.
                  Amazon is a natural monopoly, because it has reached the kind of scale that Sears and then Wal-Mart once did. It provides a products purchase and delivery service that is almost universal in nature, and operates a lot like Wal-Mart, as both rely on selling large volumes at low prices. Both also built up a very well-oiled supply chain, and use a few others (U.S. Post).

                  In countries with high public debt, politicians are usually motivated to invent new laws to squeeze money out of rich companies. Either through taxes, or other means. Threats of such squeezing might in reality be intended to get campaign contributions in order to gain re-election. In few cases, such "squeezing" is justified (usually related working conditions); in most other cases, it's not (link tax, etc.).

                  Of course, many rich companies optimise their taxes a lot, while offering free services in return (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, et la.).

                  Amazon and Apple usually offer fewer services that are outright free. But Amazon has low prices, fast delivery, and content production at Amazon Prime. Apple supports iPhones and iPads longer than any other maker of mobile devices (five years, as opposed to three or up to four years with Android devices, and that's with reputable Android makers). On their own, both Amazon and Apple can offer these things without tax optimisation, even if the upfront price of some products might then become bigger.

                  A lot of that "anti-monopoly" political movement in Europe is borne out of plain anti-Americanism.
                  Last edited by Mardus; 21 June 2022, 01:49 PM. Reason: Better wording
                  • I'm a fan of this awesome Trek webcomic: betafleet.tumblr.com (archived)
                  • Eesti on ilus, ja troppide parteide poliitikud pole enam Raudse Leedi valitsuses.
                  • I chose the Gate avatar, because it was difficult to choose between SGU character pictures of someone who I thought I was like, and someone who I was fond of. :>

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by Mardus View Post
                    A lot of that "anti-monopoly" political movement in Europe is borne out of plain anti-Americanism.
                    Dude, really?!

                    I was full on ready to have a fair discussion about monopolies and taxes, and companies like Amazon paying little to none of those, and then you have to go and end your post with that line.

                    Except, all of that discussion would be deemed off topic so probably frowned upon as much as monopolies are.
                    Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

                    Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by Falcon Horus View Post
                      Originally posted by Mardus View Post
                      A lot of that "anti-monopoly" political movement in Europe is borne out of plain anti-Americanism.
                      Dude, really?!
                      Yes, really. More here.

                      Originally posted by Falcon Horus View Post
                      I was full on ready to have a fair discussion about monopolies and taxes, and companies like Amazon paying little to none of those, and then you have to go and end your post with that line.
                      haha : D

                      Originally posted by Falcon Horus View Post
                      Except, all of that discussion would be deemed off topic so probably frowned upon as much as monopolies are.
                      I've moved the debate over to Off-topic chatter.
                      • I'm a fan of this awesome Trek webcomic: betafleet.tumblr.com (archived)
                      • Eesti on ilus, ja troppide parteide poliitikud pole enam Raudse Leedi valitsuses.
                      • I chose the Gate avatar, because it was difficult to choose between SGU character pictures of someone who I thought I was like, and someone who I was fond of. :>

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