More mega media deals could be on the way. One analyst names four companies to watch

Published Tue, Jun 1 202112:18 AM EDT

There's a "big battle" taking place in the media industry, according to one analyst, who said it looked set to be one of the biggest sectors for mergers and acquisitions this year. Cyrus Mewawalla, head of thematic research at analytics firm GlobalData, said there were growing tensions as Big Tech invaded the traditional media space. Speaking to CNBC last week —after Amazon announced that it would buy MGM Studios for $8.45 billion — he said that more consolidation in the media industry was "inevitable." Amazon could even be looking to acquire more companies in the sector to boost its credibility and help it compete with its biggest streaming rival Netflix, he added. "I think media will be one of the biggest sectors for M & A consolidation in the rest of this year, and you've got a whole bunch of companies that may be up for acquisition," Mewawalla said, naming four companies to watch: ITV , a British broadcaster listed on the London Stock Exchange, could be up for grabs, according to the researcher. The company teamed up with the BBC in 2019 to develop BritBox, a streaming service featuring popular British content like Downton Abbey and Doctor Who. Music streaming platform Spotify could also be a candidate for acquisition, Mewawalla said. The Swedish firm said in February that it had plans to launch in more than 80 new countries. Indian TV network Zee TV was another that Mewawalla said bigger players may consider bidding for. The network runs Zee5, a subscription-based streaming service that offers content in 12 languages. Even Sony Pictures could end up being sold, according to Mewawalla — despite CEO Yoshida Kenichiro telling the Financial Times that the studio was not for sale. "But I think with everything that's happening it may come up on the block," Mewawalla told CNBC. Traditional broadcasters had been "woefully late" to the streaming trend, Mewawalla said, with bastions of the industry like Disney , Discovery and WarnerMedia only launching their own platforms within the last 18 months. "They're scared of the threat from tech, and you've got tech companies like Amazon wanting to forge ahead by buying more and more content. They've got the technology, they've got the user interface, but if they don't have content they're not going to win," he said. "I think video streaming is still a U.S.-dominated market and the growth will come from international expansion," Mewawalla added. "Netflix has proved it's very good at that and so is Disney, but I think there will be a handful of players at the top, and that's where I think you'll see more M & A."

VIDEO3:3003:30

With media M&A on the rise, one analyst names four possible acquisition targets

Street Signs Europe

There's a "big battle" taking place in the media industry, according to one analyst, who said it looked set to be one of the biggest sectors for mergers and acquisitions this year.

Cyrus Mewawalla, head of thematic research at analytics firm GlobalData, said there were growing tensions as Big Tech invaded the traditional media space. Speaking to CNBC last week —after Amazon announced that it would buy MGM Studios for $8.45 billion — he said that more consolidation in the media industry was "inevitable."

Amazon could even be looking to acquire more companies in the sector to boost its credibility and help it compete with its biggest streaming rival Netflix, he added.

"I think media will be one of the biggest sectors for M&A consolidation in the rest of this year, and you've got a whole bunch of companies that may be up for acquisition," Mewawalla said, naming four companies to watch: