Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Streaming Video Showdown: Is Amazon Or Netflix The Better Bet For Stockpickers?


Forbes - It’s almost poetic that Tony Soprano is in Jeff Bezos’ corner. Not because the two men share similar senses of ruthlessness and business savvy (though they do). Nor because the mobster and the mogul both have Machiavellian natures that render neither a desirable enemy (though they do). No, Tony Soprano’s new alliance with Jeff Bezos is fitting because Soprano is the definitive anti-hero of TV’s golden era, a character so influential that it spawned Mad Men’s Don Draper,Breaking Bad’s Walter White and House of Cards’master manipulator Frank Underwood. And House of Cards, of course, is the scripted series that has helped launch Netflix NFLX -5.27% to new levels of popularity and turn it into a viable competitor to cable networks and online ventures alike.
But if Tony Soprano can giveth, Tony Soprano can taketh away – and he very well might: his exclusive presence on Amazon Prime Instant Video marks a turn in the online streaming tide, a turn that could eventually be deadly for Netflix in the long run.   Read More