Netflix faces serious competition from Facebook and Amazon.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2 recent developments are causing Netflix stock to drop:
52wk Range: 67.82 - 247.55
down to 197 and dropping today, following Facebook announcement.

1. NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Facebook is putting a big scare into Netflix Inc. and its stockholders.
The social-media kingpin has struck a deal with Warner Brothers to distribute films.

This is serious. If Netflix doesn’t watch its back, Facebook could do it what Netflix did to Blockbuster Inc.:
make it irrelevant in the digital age.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-tells-netflix-watch-your-back-2011-03-08?siteid=yhoof


2. Amazon now offers instant streaming FREE to those who own PRIME membership.
Here's the problem: You get more than the streaming (which incidentally I counted up at ~1,300 movies alone on Amazon this morning - all of which I can look at the titles of before choosing to buy the PRIME membership) plus you get 2-day shipping included on anything you buy from Amazon.

PRIME membership price isn't changing - this is just another "fringe" benefit. And it will stream to a huge number of devices - arguably more than Netflix covers.

For PRIME members, they just lost all reason to have a Netflix subscription. That's going to hurt - a lot. And for non-members, you're now paying $6.58/month, or less than Netflix is charging, for the streaming video service and the two-day shipping on Amazon purchases is included at no cost.

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=180638

[bemildred]

1. These fads come and go, nothing to get worked up about. nt

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. Yes, $6.58 per month, but you pay that as $79 up front

That's a deal breaker for me right there.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. At present, the Amazon streaming selection is pitiful.

Plus side: Netflix streaming does not support Linux, Amazon does, no player download required.
those who shop at Amazon a lot might find the movie streaming a value down the road.
Definitely the 80.00 per year shipping is a plus for frequent shoppers, esp. if postal costs continue rising.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. I recently bought the "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" DVD from Amazon...

...which came with a free 48-hour pass to the streaming version. The quality was good, and it was included in the price of the DVD, but I didn't venture out to see what else they had.

I recently did the Netflix streaming thing for one month but canceled it because every movie I "wanted" to watch wasn't available, which meant digging down into a genre and looking for something I was willing to "settle for," and many times that just meant giving up and pulling one of my own movies from the shelf.

[madrchsod]

5. amazon charges 99cent a video...

i can get almost a good a price at family dollar