Netflix vs. Amazon? I thought it was Netflix vs. Hulu. There has been a ton of press in the last few days about Amazon’s new streaming service. Many are already calling it the “Netflix killer,” but this undoubtedly premature. Netflix has 4x the number of titles as Amazon and has also built a massive brand that resonates very strongly with consumers as the place to get movies by mail or online.
Before today — the conversation was about Netflix killing Hulu. The conversation has become: will Amazon kill Netflix? Right now, they don’t have enough high quality content to compete with Netflix. Their library only has 5,000 movie and television titles, as compared to Netflix’s 20,000. It is also made up of older library titles like Amadeus, Analyze This, and Syriana. But, this is only the beginning.
Exciting news stories generate a lot of buzz, but we think this one is overblown. Where do you go for MP3s? Amazon or iTunes? Most people still go to iTunes. If you’d like to judge the Netflix vs. Amazon battle for yourself, here’s a quick excerpt from the Amazon press release:
Amazon.com, Inc. today announced the launch of a new benefit for Amazon Prime members: unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of more than 5,000 movies and TV shows. This new benefit is being added at no additional cost — Prime membership will continue to be $79 per year. Amazon Prime’s all-you-can-eat free Two-Day Shipping has already attracted millions of members. Customers can learn more about an Amazon Prime one-month free trial and start watching instantly at www.amazon.com/primevideos.
What do you think? Who will win the Netflix vs. Amazon battle?
