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Amazon Talking with Netflix And Blockbuster
Mike from HackingNetflix.com writes "Reuters is reporting that 'Amazon.com has approached online DVD rental service companies, including Blockbuster and Netflix, to explore a partnership rather than launching its own U.S. DVD rental service.'" More from the article: "Despite its online might, shopping giant Amazon faces a potentially expensive battle to crack the competitive U.S. online rental market. The company started its own DVD rental service in Britain in December. Rumors that Amazon would enter the U.S. online DVD rental market sparked a price war late last year between Blockbuster and Netflix, which pioneered online DVD rental and now controls about 75 percent of the market." So there may be a happy ending to this tale for Netflix after all.
Amazon has been one of the innovative online business for a long time. How about streaming rental service? Strike a deal with Tivo or somebody else. Why don't they still embrace the future?
Yeah, I wouldn't mind a piece of the pie as well. Netflix, let me jump on the back of your obviously well designed and considerably successful business. Will you just send me a check, or should I do anything else?
Apple is dying, Tivo is dying, BSD is dying, netflix is dying etc etc etc... /me is tired of hearing this kind of nonsense.
what is the viability of startubg a DVD mail service right now? Are they trying to build a client base for the inevitble switch to streaming, which granted is still a few years off, or just trying to get in and steal a bit of market share while they can. hmm. it reminds me of back in 2001, when i worked for an internet kiosk company. we all knew that wireless tech was hitting the market and that it basically spelled doom for the company, but the higher ups hoped to make as much as they could and (hopefully) sell the company off to a major player before wireless came to fruition...the company was gone within 2 years.
Amazon.co.uk already provide this service, which I think is backed by Lovefilm.com (email me for a double length free trial, 28 days instead of 14), which is basically the top UK online DVD rental site (run by Online Rentals Ltd). Ive been a Lovefilm member for 16 months now, and I dont have a single word of complaint about them - fast service, good rates and a very easy to use site.
I really don't think the market could hold another major competitor, so partnering with Blockbuster or Netflix would be a smart move... Although I heard rumors that Hollywood Video might also be looking at starting an online movie rental business. That might be an ideal partner for Amazon, as both are fresh in the business.
Also, for a shameless plug, if there are any Netflix users out there, and you think dealing with your queue is a pain, try my new software (Windows), called FlixQueue.
http://www.5hyphen.com/FlixQueue/index.htm
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within six months. It sort of blows me away that it's not already there. Netflix knows the movies I like much better than Amazon. It knows what I've seen, what I've rented twice. If I wanted to browse some movies to buy I'd go to Netflix and search around, before heading over to Amazon to actually place my order.
I'll bet they'd like a cut of those revenues too.
So close and yet so far from the world's perfect ID number
Not likely. Online video rentals are really about quality vs quantity and that is not Wal-marts forte. Netflix has a large selection of movies but may not always have enough of the most popular ones. Walmart would always have enough copies of popular dvds but would have a limited catalog otherwise. Besides if they were going to break into video rental they would have done it as brick and mortar first.
There's risk from either direction. The attempt to squash them like a bug could also fail, yes, and at ruinous expense? We don't know what terms are being discussed, but there would be concessions and benefits on either side. Not that Amazon isn't dealing from a position of some strength, especially because it can play Netflix off against the Blockbuster evil empire.
Netflix is already facing Blockbuster's recent conversation to their own business model. If I was Netflix negotiating a deal of this sort, I'd be thinking that any sort of Amazon relationship could give me the presence to withstand that. I'd maybe want some sort of mutual benefits situation with respect to DVD sales off of Amazon.
(And I don't know enough about Netflix's base of customers, except that it includes me, but I'd bet Amazon has a colossally higher visibility for the average consumer. Amazon is on the level of google, with more staying power to boot. Whether Netflix has a lot of customers or not, the question is whether there's a lot of growth left in the market, and whether Amazon's presence would get at it.)
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..its called Bit Torrent, and is usually quicker than Blockbuster !
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As long as you like full-frame DVDs. They even sell widescreen TVs now, but their DVD selection is still slanted towards full-frame.
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It has become apparent to me that you have mistakenly found your way on to Slashdot.org. I do not blame you for your misplaced comments. You likely felt right at home, with Slashdot's prevalent use of Internet abbreviations and lack of capitalizing proper nouns.
However, you may not be aware that the use of "/me" is not a valid Slashdot command. Rather, it makes you sound like Jar Jar Binks.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
NetZero User
I'm a Netflix fan, but think Amazon should go it alone for no other reason than I love a price war. :)
NetFlix already has a healthy base of customers, and anyone interested in such a service already knows about them. What does Amazon have to bring to the table, other than not crushing them like a bug?
A stronger brand. Despite what you say, I doubt that most interested comsumers are aware of online DVD rental.