By George Anderson
A report in Variety says Amazon.com is getting ready to announce a new DVD download service that would allow consumers to buy and download programs and movies while waiting for the physical disk to come in the mail.
While Amazon refused comment on any plans for a download service, at least one analyst thinks the online retailer is "uniquely positioned" to offer such an option to consumers.
In a note to investors reported on by Reuters, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Scott Devitt wrote: "We believe Amazon would have the same capacity to cut deals with the TV and movie content owners as does any of its competitors receiving the associated hype for the opportunity. In our view, Amazon has an amazingly loyal customer base and the company offers several incentives for using its network."
The Variety report said Amazon was looking to offer the combination download and physical DVD service to generate impulse purchases without cutting into sales of DVDs.
"What they are serving up is a direct companion to the DVD," said an unidentified senior Hollywood executive. "Everything is being leveraged to sell more DVDs. When you go to a product page on the site, it will say all the variations about how you'd purchase that video -- stream, buy or maybe a combination (of options)."
A similar service is reportedly being peddled to movie studios by Comcast. The cable television operator is looking for buy-in to allow consumers to purchase programming through its on-demand service and then receive the content in the mail.
Moderator's Comment: Where do you see the future of the movie rental and purchase business heading? Does Amazon have a built-in advantage over the likes of Comcast, Apple Computer and Wal-Mart in this area? - George Anderson - Moderator