Old rumors never die.
The "Amazon is buying Netflix" chatter is starting to pick up some steam.
BusinessInsider.com, Fly on the Wall, and Reuters reporter Anupreeta Das have all pointed to heavy trading activity on Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) call options as the speculative root of the born again rumor.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the logical suitor, as always.
I've been a Netflix shareholder since 2002, so I've seen plenty of these rumors come and go. However, it wouldn't surprise me to see Netflix find a way to cash out on top. Owning Netflix has been like riding a runaway train. It's fast and exciting, but it won't end pretty without an intervening force.
Yes, Netflix has done an amazing job of remaining relevant. It survived the awkward shift from DVD to Blu-ray, and it's a major force in digital delivery. This doesn't mean that Netflix will be relevant in five to seven years when discs are a memory, when every cable provider and digital media provider will have subscription offerings similar to what Netflix is championing today.
Netflix will naturally have first mover advantages. Amazon, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI) have been struggling in selling digital celluloid. Cable giant Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is losing video subscribers. In that time, Netflix is getting to know its subscriber base better with every passing member review. It also has a killer brand.
Netflix will fare well at first, but things will get tricky when the studios decide to deliver content directly to wired consumers, cutting out the middlemen platforms.
Is this it? Has Netflix finally decided to jump off the runaway train, at a time when the otherwise amazing Amazon has a serious void in digital video? I don't buy it. I've been here before.
However, I think it's going to happen eventually. The rumor mill isn't always wrong.
