Amazon.com
Amazonians at the gate
Right now, as part of its Amazon Prime service, customers can stream unlimited video from the company's entire catalog. Non-subscribers can buy or rent individual movies or TV episodes on a per-title basis. This service is called "Instant Video."
The new standalone service would be subscriber-based, but would be distinct from Instant Video, the way Qwikster, Netflix's aborted spin-off from last year, would have been an entity separate from Netflix. Amazon is reportedly set on the idea, and is supposedly just trying to figure out what to charge.
Amazon itself hasn't commented on any of this. This story was first reported in The New York Post, which cited industry sources.
What, me worry?
Netflix is taking the story seriously enough to have already issued a statement to shareholders on the subject: "We expect Amazon to continue to offer their video service as a free extra with Prime domestically, but also to brand their video subscription offering as a standalone service at a price less than ours."
Going further, Netflix blithely discounted the potential competition posed by Amazon and Hulu Plus, saying that "both Amazon and Hulu Plus's content is a fraction of our content, and we believe their respective total viewing hours are each less than 10% of ours."
Yes, you worry
Delivering entertainment, whether by wire or mail, is Netflix's sole source of income. As such, it had better be doing it better than anyone else. Amazon has its one of the largest, most successful retail businesses in the world to fall back on if video streaming doesn't work out or takes a few years to spool up.
Apple
While the company is playing it cool to investors and the press, behind the scenes it had better be sharpening its swords and manning the battlements. The hordes are assembling.
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