Rumor: Amazon Wants To Buy Netflix

Rumor has begun circulating that Netflix might be acquired by Amazon. An options analyst told Bloomberg that, "There's heavy call buying and the stock is up on renewed takeover talk, with Amazon being mentioned specifically."

We're not sure if there is any truth to this rumor at this time, but it certainly would make sense for Amazon to want to get into the Netflix game. Both companies are fighting to build the future of digital streaming movies and television. Every week more game systems, dvd/blu-ray players and even televisions becoming Netflix capable, which could be looked at as a completely new market to sell digital content. Imagine in addition to being able to stream Netflix Instant selections, you would also be able to buy or watch any movie on demand from Amazon (for a fee, charged to your Netflix account).

Also, imagine what Netflix would be able to do if it had access to Amazon's IMDb data. I would love to be able to access that kind of information while watching a movie from Netflix on my television. Also, I'm sure the user rating data could be used to help improve the recommendation engine, especially if linked across accounts.