It's Netflix
CBS's
The channel is getting ready to launch Showtime Anytime, a streaming service that it will make available to its subscribers at no additional cost. If Showtime wants the digital offering to help retain traditional subscribers, then being the exclusive source is in the channel's best interest.
The rub is that Netflix will still offer all of these seasons as rentals on DVD, so Showtime's decision to rein in streams may benefit Netflix as a DVD-delivery service. In other words, Netflix is being saved by its old-school fleet of regional distribution centers.
I guess you can teach a new-media company some old-media tricks.
Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.
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Red Hat
(NYSE: RHT) gets a tip of the hat for posting a better-than-expected quarterly report. Bookings climbed 30%, Red Hat's best quarterly showing in three years. Yes, there's some serious money to be made in open source. -
Carnival
(NYSE: CCL) is paying the price for costly bunker fuel. The world's largest cruise-ship operator slashed its profit guidance. Bookings are holding up, but pesky fuel prices are raining on the pool-deck party. -
Sirius XM Radio
(Nasdaq: SIRI) has initiated a tender offer to buy back all of its 3.25% convertible notes that were due later this year. The satellite-radio giant had its brush with mortality two years ago, but now it's making sure that it doesn't have any major debt-repayment milestones for a long time. -
Baidu
(Nasdaq: BIDU) is working on a fast-booting operating system based on a simple search box. I guess you can say that China's leading search engine is thinking inside the box.
Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz
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