Tag Archives: nflx

Time Warner giving Time Inc. spinoff parting gift of debt

If Time Warner had a theme song for the spinoff of its magazine publishing business, it would probably be “History Repeating” by Shirley Bassey and the Propellerheads. That’s because parent company Time Warner (TWX) is taking the same approach in saddling its Time spinoff with debt that Viacom (VIA) did with its spinoff of struggling video rental firm Blockbuster in 2004. Blockbuster was never able to shake its debt burden, which hindered its ability to pursue new opportunities. It was soon eclipsed by Netflix (NFLX) and eventually went out of business. Could the same fate await Time?  

Amazon crows about topping Apple in streaming video

Amazon.com (AMZN) on Tuesday crowed about topping Apple (AAPL) and Hulu in streaming video usage last month, even though it’s still a distant No. 3 behind market leader Netflix (NFLX) and Google’s (GOOG) YouTube. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said in a press release that it had passed both Apple (AAPL) and Hulu in streaming video usage. Amazon said video streams on its Prime Instant Video service nearly tripled year over year, citing data from Qwilt, a provider of online video delivery and transparent caching solutions. “We’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars in great TV shows and movies for Prime members, and it’s working,” said Bill Carr, vice president of digital video and music for Amazon (AMZN) . “As part of their membership, Amazon Prime members can watch their favorite movies and television shows on an unlimited basis, and as we add original content like ‘Alpha House,’ ‘Bosch,’ ‘The After,’ ‘Mozart in the…

Microsoft, Yahoo latest to fund original Internet TV shows

With linear television from broadcast and cable, it was pretty easy to keep track of new TV shows. But with the rise of original programs on Internet-based streaming video services, finding and watching new TV shows is becoming a lot more complicated. You can add Microsoft (MSFT), Sony (SNE) and Yahoo (YHOO) to the list of companies looking to make an impact with original TV shows for online streaming. They join Netflix (NFLX), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Hulu in funding shows for over-the-top television viewing. Today those Internet-based services largely complement existing pay TV services, but one day they could threaten traditional services from cable, satellite and telco TV providers.