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- The coronavirus crisis is taking its toll on Hollywood which could create an opportunity for Apple to buy a major studio, a Wall Street analyst said Friday.
- Major studios and entertainment companies are reeling from the crisis as premieres and productions are cancelled.
- Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said he sees Apple, which just launched its own streaming TV service, acquiring one of the major entertainment companies to boost its new Apple TV Plus service.
- "They need content, and they have $200 billion plus of cash," Ives told Business Insider.
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The coronavirus crisis is taking a heavy toll on Holywood, which could create an unexpected opportunity for Apple to boost its streaming TV business, a Wall Street analyst said Friday
Big movie studios and entertainment companies are taking a hit from the pandemic which has derailed the scheduled premieres of blockbuster movies such as "Fast & Furious 9" and the new James Bond movie, "No Time to Die," while halting other productions like Marvel's forthcoming "Shang-Chi."
"There are different projects that can't get off the ground because they can't even be filmed or produced," Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives told Business Insider.
The crisis could leave in its wake battered entertainment and movie companies. And these companies could become potential acquisition targets for a cash-rich behemoth like Apple as it pushes for a bigger presence in streaming TV, Ives said.
"I believe Apple acquiring a major studio, a Lionsgate, an MGM, a Sony Pictures, is a very potential scenario," he said. "They need content, and, and they have $200 billion plus of cash."
Apple's ambitions to become a bigger player in the entertainment industry became clear late last year when it unveiled Apple TV Plus, a new video streaming service. Apple has attracted celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and J.J Abrams, to create content for the service.
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