HBO isn’t going to adopt the Netfix business model in the US without a strong reason to do so. If Netflix is successful with their model and proves that it works, maybe that will be the strong reason to do so.
via A VC: HBO vs Netflix.
People love Netflix and they just keep getting stronger. But like Amazon in the 1999-2007 period they have always attracted shorts who get fascinated by the opponent of the moment.
At various times they were going to be defeated by Blockbuster retail then Blockbuster Online, Wal-Mart cheap DVDs and then Wal-Mart’s VUDU streaming, Redbox from Coinstar’s $1/rental kiosks and then their streaming, Amazon’s range of efforts including the latest Prime streaming and content.
Fred Wilson’s frames it as HBO today. And it’s true that their moves right now shadow HBO.
But eventually the game could progress to challenging the connectivity/packaged TV players like Comcast and Verizon. I thought so back when I wrote this post about Comcast that was damn right — Netflix has been down 80% and then up overall since I made that call.