Amazon MGM Studios has executed a definitive licensing pact to send four James Bond films (No Time to Die, Skyfall, Quantum of Solace, Die Another Day) to Netflix in key territories (US, UK, Germany, France, LatAm) starting January 15, 2026. The window is short—just three months—creating a “pop-up” event. Crucially, the deal includes Amazon Originals Hunters and The Man in the High Castle, alongside MGM library staples Rocky, Creed, and Legally Blonde.

Amazon MGM Studios is the seller, with Chris Ottinger (Head of Worldwide Distribution) executing a mandate to monetize the $8.45 billion MGM acquisition. Netflix is the buyer, led by CCO Bela Bajaria, securing retention-driving blockbusters amidst its own massive corporate restructuring—the pending $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

This deal marks a definitive shift from “walled garden” exclusivity to a strategy of Weaponized Distribution. It acts as an admission that Netflix has become a utility—a necessary distribution pipe for rival studios to generate cash and cultural relevance.

• The “Suits Effect” for Bond: With Bond 26 likely stalled until 2028, the franchise is a depreciating asset sitting on Prime Video. Amazon is renting Netflix’s algorithm to heat up the IP, ensuring Bond stays relevant to Gen Z without Amazon spending a dime on marketing.
• Recouping the $8.5 Billion Bill: For three years, Amazon treated MGM as a “prestige decoration.” Now, by licensing Bond and “dead” originals like Hunters (which have likely maxed out their value on Prime) to Netflix, Amazon is effectively asking its rival to subsidize the 2022 MGM acquisition cost.

This deal is a preview of the inevitable future for the Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

• Funding the Behemoth: If Netflix closes its $82 billion acquisition of WBD, it will inherit massive debt. Just as Amazon is licensing Bond to Netflix to pay for MGM, Netflix will likely be forced to license WBD assets (DC, Harry Potter) to competitors—potentially even back to Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+—to fund the deal.

• The End of Hoarding: We are moving from a “Walled Garden” era to a “Rent-to-Own” era. The cost of acquiring legacy studios is too high to be supported solely by subscriptions; premium content must travel to rival platforms to pay for itself.

The era of “Permanent Exclusivity” is officially dead for everything except perhaps the most current flagship hits. We are seeing the supply chain bifurcate:

1. Launch Window: Exclusive to the originating platform (Prime Video) to drive acquisition.

2. Syndication Window: Licensed to Netflix/FAST to drive revenue and brand awareness (18–24 months post-release).

3. Homecoming: IP returns to the library once value is extracted elsewhere.

Amazon has blinked first, admitting that even a trillion-dollar tech giant needs external revenue to justify Hollywood M&A. This validates the thesis that Netflix’s pending WBD acquisition will turn Netflix into a massive seller. Expect a future where Batman streams on Prime Video to help Netflix pay off the Warner Bros. bill, just as Bond is streaming on Netflix to help Amazon pay off the MGM bill. The “Streaming Wars” have ended; the “Streaming Trade Agreement” has begun.