Amazon has been very busy as of late. First off, Amazon‘s cloud service AWS celebrates a milestone. Amazon’s AWS has over a million active customers.
Not only that, but AWS has grown 81% in one year. At this time in 2014, this cloud service was worth $4 billion. Now, it’s worth $7.3 billion. You can add an additional billion from their database business. Then they’re other ventures. Amazon wants their own online pay-TV service. This would add to their video based service. Amazon is asking CBS and NBC to cater to their channels. This information is according to anonymous insiders. These alleged negotiations are in the early stages. Nobody from CBS or NBC is saying a word. Neither is Amazon spokesperson Craig Bergman. But here’s another clue Amazon really wants pay-TV service: Amazon recently acquired Elemenetal Technologies for $500 million, one of Amazon’s biggest purchases in their history. Elemental specializes in software enabling different channels and content to be delivered across many devices. They have many customers, like ESPN, ABC, and BBC. So last month, they acquire a company that will help them deliver many TV channels to many devices. According to anonymous sources, negotiations between Amazon and CBS and NBC have been going on for months. Coincidence? I think not.
For years, Amazon has been the most successful online retail site of all-time. Their grocery delivery service is doing well. Smaller, more local delivery services aren’t liking that. Now they’re expanding. Amazon’s AWS is on their way to becoming one of the most respected cloud services in the game. Microsoft and Apple aren’t going to like that. Now they may or may not be getting in the online pay-TV service. All signs say they are. How are Netflix and Hulu going to respond? I believe in capitalism as much as anybody. But how many toes are Amazon going to step on here?