Quote Originally Posted by Smokey
But the potential is there. Amazon might have more bargaining power than Netflix with the content providers giving that Amazon is like Walmart of cyber world with no sale tax (most states) and shipping cost. So "impulse" type purchases might kick in more often.
Again, the titles used for streaming and those made available for paid downloads are separate contracts. Downloads are a basic revenue split, whereas streaming rights are similar to those blanket content deals that the studios negotiate with HBO, Showtime, and Starz. Having one does not affect the other.

In their competition with Amazon, Netflix has the upper hand right now because they got the eyeballs and the content. But, don't underestimate the bargain chip that the studios hold -- the keys to the content. With an escalating audience comes escalating fees for content. A lot of Netflix's earlier contracts are now coming up again, and the more recent fees getting signed are exponentially higher than before. (With just one studio these fees went from roughly $40 million to over $200 million)

Amazon has bargaining power, but the question is how much they would use it given how thin their margins are as a whole. With Amazon only now getting their steaming service up and running, how willing are they to pay nine-figure sums to each of the major studios? And are they willing to ratchet up the ante by negotiating exclusive windows for certain movies and TV shows? That exclusivity costs money, as does the rights to show movies closer to their original theatrical and home video runs.

The other thing to keep in mind is that deals can and do expire. If they don't get renewed, then those titles get removed.