Amazon To Buy LoveFilm – Will Online TV/Movie Rentals Be Their Next Digital Content Success?
Written by Rob Nichols on January 20, 2011 · Filed under Internet, Tech, TV/Movies
Amazon has today announced that it has reached an agreement to swallow up all remaining shares of movie rental and streaming company LoveFilm.
It’s really that simple from our point of view, but obviously from a business perspective on their side of the fence it’s a great deal more complicated, although in truth we don’t need to get into that, we can leave it for the experts.
We recently saw news of LoveFilm movie streaming coming to the PS3 here in the UK – much like the US-based service, NetFlix, which operates an entirely similar service to LoveFilm in the US.
Rumours of plans have been floating around somewhere that NetFlix intend to expand into the UK some time soon. So, is the timing of this move purely coincidental? Or is Amazon trying to pry away any budding Netflix subscribers in the UK and attract them toward LoveFilm? Of course they are.
So what does this mean for us? Well, not a great deal really, for now at least. LoveFilm already operates a movie rental and streaming service, and it will continue to do so.
Of course with the backing of Amazon and their experience in selling digital content in the form of Kindle books and Audible audiobooks, it could potentially grow to a state far greater than it is at now, which is already quite commanding considering it’s one of the only successful subscription-based movie streaming efforts still going in the UK. For now, though, it’s going to remain the same service wise, but the news is quite, well, BIG.
What do you make of this move then? Will Amazon’s new Does this mean that we’ll see LoveFilm streaming options on more platforms much like NetFlix in the US?
Also, does a move like this mean we won’t see it on devices made by Amazon’s big rivals in the digital content business, such as the Apple TV?
We always like to hear your opinion on stories such as this, and any others, in fact, so feel free to make your voice heard in the comments section below.
Via – Wired
