As part of my 2009 Digital Media Predictions, I gave six reasons why Amazon should acquire Netflix (and also merge with eBay):

So why does Amazon + Netflix make sense? A few reasons:

1. In economic hardship or not, Netflix offers an alternative to movie purchasing… which I believe, over time, is eroding (just like music). Offering consumers the ability to either purchase a movie at a flat rate (ie $14.99) or renting it within a monthly subscription (ie $14.99) provides choice while still keeping buyers on Amazon.

2. I love Netflix’s service… but I despise Netflix.com and the site experience which, as I’ve written before, hasn’t changed for years. Amazon would immediately fix this by leveraging their best-in-class search and site experience – and integrating that into the core Amazon platform.

Continue reading for all six reason

According to TechCrunch, it looks as though Amazon may indeed be courting Netflix:

Well here’s a hot little rumor. Netflix stock has surged today on news that it may be acquired by Amazon.

The stock is currently up over 7% in trading today, at an 11-week high. Sources seem pretty thin, based seemingly on stock analysis from places like WhatsTrading.com. And neither company is commenting. But the idea is a hot one.

Update: Bloomberg is also covering: “Netflix Advances on Speculation of Buyout Offer From Amazon.com”

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