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What happens when Amazon launches their competing streaming video service? [1] Just a rumor at this point, but when a large set of content comes in-window for

by bdb 16y ago

What happens when Amazon launches their competing streaming video service? [1] Just a rumor at this point, but when a large set of content comes in-window for both Netflix and Amazon and each needs to spin up a thousand instances to transcode it? Who will get priority? [2] It seems extraordinarily stupid to entrust such an obvious potential competitor with the keys to your infrastructure, particularly in a single-vendor solution. This is fundamentally different from the Roku model -- neither Amazon nor Netflix own Roku, so they can remain neutral. (edit: formatting) [1] http://technologizer.com/2010/08/31/amazon-subscription-streaming-rumor/ http://technologizer.com/2010/08/31/amazon-subscription-stre... [2] And don't give me any bullshit about AWS not being capacity constrained unless you routinely spin up 1000 temporary XL instances.

samratjp 16y ago
"It seems extraordinarily stupid to entrust such an obvious potential competitor with the keys to your infrastructure, particularly in a single-vendor solution." If this (http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:NFLX http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:NFLX) is any indication, I am sure they are secretly building their farm somewhere as we speak. On a side note, I wonder why all these companies brag about AWS so much (yeah, yeah, AWS is awesome, I use it myself too) - are they getting endorsement incentives or something?
- bdb 16y ago
  From what I have heard, they are not. They are literally going full speed ahead moving all of their infrastructure (aside of streaming) over to AWS.
- brown9-2 16y ago
  Netflix has recently started a "tech blog" and is keeping it regularly updated with articles, although so far they mostly seem to be about "How Netflix uses tech" rather than talking about their code, OSS projects, low-level design decisions, etc. I think they're starting to discuss these things a bit more as a recruitment strategy.
  - ianhawes 16y ago
    Thats how I read the entire blog post...A recruitment effort.
wheels 16y ago
Do you seriously think this didn't occur to the Netflix management prior to the switchover? A couple points: • Netflix pulling out amid internet drama of anti-competitive behavior would hurt Amazon much worse than it would hurt Netflix. Netflix can find someone to throw their money at to host their infrastructure, but they could deal a pretty hefty blow to Amazon's emerging revenue stream in infrastructure by scaring lots of potential customers away. • There have been talks about a some-day Amazon / Netflix merger for a bazillion years. This could be a little technical lubricant to such a deal.
- bdb 16y ago
  Netflix is merely a peripherally-involved third party in the recent Comcast/Level(3) drama. But I guess being a big enough AWS customer might help them get problems fixed when they arise. I sincerely doubt that Netflix would be acquired by Amazon without a serious downward adjustment to their market cap. Besides, Amazon hosting the entire Netflix infrastructure would present a dramatic disadvantage to any other potential acquirer; in general, M&A yields the best returns for shareholders of the acquired company when there is a bidding war taking place.
dkl 16y ago
I am a very casual user of AWS and have been told many times that AWS couldn't start an image of the type I requested in the zone I requested it. That's the problem with using EBS-backed images, you can only start them in specific zones.
- lrm242 16y ago
  It's a trivial matter to snapshot your EBS instance to S3, and start an instance somewhere else using that snapshot.
parenthesis 16y ago
> What happens when Amazon launches their competing streaming video service? Amazon already happily takes a small cut from competitors' businesses: from the many third party sellers who sell through Amazon's retail sites.
- bdb 16y ago
  Businesses where Amazon is already dominant, or at least well-established, yes. Amazon also consistently promotes their own first-party sales above third-party sales. Many of those third-party sellers also have other outlets for selling their product. I'm not sure your analogy stands up.

by bdb 16y ago

samratjp 16y ago

"It seems extraordinarily stupid to entrust such an obvious potential competitor with the keys to your infrastructure, particularly in a single-vendor solution." If this (http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:NFLX http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:NFLX) is any indication, I am sure they are secretly building their farm somewhere as we speak. On a side note, I wonder why all these companies brag about AWS so much (yeah, yeah, AWS is awesome, I use it myself too) - are they getting endorsement incentives or something?

bdb 16y ago
From what I have heard, they are not. They are literally going full speed ahead moving all of their infrastructure (aside of streaming) over to AWS.
brown9-2 16y ago
Netflix has recently started a "tech blog" and is keeping it regularly updated with articles, although so far they mostly seem to be about "How Netflix uses tech" rather than talking about their code, OSS projects, low-level design decisions, etc. I think they're starting to discuss these things a bit more as a recruitment strategy.
- ianhawes 16y ago
  Thats how I read the entire blog post...A recruitment effort.

wheels 16y ago

Do you seriously think this didn't occur to the Netflix management prior to the switchover? A couple points: • Netflix pulling out amid internet drama of anti-competitive behavior would hurt Amazon much worse than it would hurt Netflix. Netflix can find someone to throw their money at to host their infrastructure, but they could deal a pretty hefty blow to Amazon's emerging revenue stream in infrastructure by scaring lots of potential customers away. • There have been talks about a some-day Amazon / Netflix merger for a bazillion years. This could be a little technical lubricant to such a deal.

bdb 16y ago
Netflix is merely a peripherally-involved third party in the recent Comcast/Level(3) drama. But I guess being a big enough AWS customer might help them get problems fixed when they arise. I sincerely doubt that Netflix would be acquired by Amazon without a serious downward adjustment to their market cap. Besides, Amazon hosting the entire Netflix infrastructure would present a dramatic disadvantage to any other potential acquirer; in general, M&A yields the best returns for shareholders of the acquired company when there is a bidding war taking place.

dkl 16y ago

I am a very casual user of AWS and have been told many times that AWS couldn't start an image of the type I requested in the zone I requested it. That's the problem with using EBS-backed images, you can only start them in specific zones.

lrm242 16y ago
It's a trivial matter to snapshot your EBS instance to S3, and start an instance somewhere else using that snapshot.

parenthesis 16y ago

> What happens when Amazon launches their competing streaming video service? Amazon already happily takes a small cut from competitors' businesses: from the many third party sellers who sell through Amazon's retail sites.

bdb 16y ago
Businesses where Amazon is already dominant, or at least well-established, yes. Amazon also consistently promotes their own first-party sales above third-party sales. Many of those third-party sellers also have other outlets for selling their product. I'm not sure your analogy stands up.