Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., or MGM, is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures.

The studio's official motto, "Ars Gratia Artis", is a Latin phrase meaning "Art for art's sake." It was chosen by Howard Dietz, the studio's chief publicist, in 1924. The studio's logo is a roaring lion surrounded by a circle inscribed with the studio's motto. The logo, which features "Leo the Lion," was created by Dietz in 1916 for Goldwyn Pictures and updated in 1924 for MGM's use. Dietz based the logo on his alma mater's mascot—the Columbia University lion. Originally silent, the sound of Leo the Lion's roar was added to films for the first time in August 1928. The studio's informal motto is "more stars than there are in heaven", a reference to the large number of A-list movie stars under contract to the company in the 1930s. This second motto was also coined by Deitz, and was probably first used in 1932.

MGM purchased Metromedia's film subsidiaries (Orion Pictures, The Samuel Goldwyn Company, and the Motion Picture Corporation of America) for $573 million 1997, and Kerkorian bought out Seven Network the following year. MGM used debt to acquire Polygram Filmed Entertainment's 1,300-title library from Seagram in 1999 for $250 million, and obtained the broadcast rights to more than 800 of its films previously licensed to Turner Broadcasting. MGM then purchased 20 percent of Cablevision Systems for $825 million in 2001. MGM attempted to take over Universal Studios in 2003 but failed, and was forced to sell several of its cable channel investments (taking a $75 million loss on the deal).