First the qualifier: This is an international deal. With that out of the way, it's probably safe to speculate that Amazon's decision to go all-in with European movie rental service LoveFilm could and probably will have repercussions in the U.S.
While the deal is being posited as a defensive move by Amazon to fend off a planned international expansion by Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), there is nothing to stop the U.S.-based company from bringing Love Film's DVD rental/streaming video format to the U.S.
LoveFilm investors are calling it a "European success story" because "LoveFilm is the Netflix of Europe and it will be central to Amazon's European and global strategy."
For more:
- the BBC has this story
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