Those who can – do. Those who can’t – pay someone to do it for them. Reports today that Amazon.com is in talks with DVD rental giants Blockbuster and Netflix to pursue a potential partnership rather than strike out on its own. Right now Netflix has got a 75% revenue share and Amazon’s going to [...]
Those who can – do. Those who can’t – pay someone to do it for them. Reports today that Amazon.com is in talks with DVD rental giants Blockbuster and Netflix to pursue a potential partnership rather than strike out on its own.
Right now Netflix has got a 75% revenue share and Amazon’s going to have to spend, and spend big, if they want to catch up. A partnership would save Amazon millions of dollars and ease the nerves of investors queasy over Netflix’s long-term viability. Then again, Amazon’s got a much bigger user base (7 million vs. 1 million) and you could argue that they could get a new venture off the ground with relative ease, given this built-in customer base.
In the meantime, let’s enjoy the price wars and hope we’re not faced with another Toys R Us.
Read more of the story here on CNET and check out the commentary on Slashdot.
I sincerely hope Amazon does not pair itself with Netflix. I’ve come to expect reliable service from Amazon over the years. Amazon is a dot com consumers have learned to trust. On the other hand, Netflix is living proof scam artists live on the Web. Since I’ve joined Netflix over a year ago, I’ve received 22 cracked DVDs, 1 fatally scratched rental, and 4 wrong shipments. The worst part is trying to get a hold of their customer service. It’s like one of those shady businesses you see on 60 Minutes.