Amazon's TV Strategy Sharpens Focus on Hardware Dominance
For several years now, the lines that once divided television media and television mediums have been blurring. Cable giant Comcast is the parent to TV brand NBC and movie studio Universal, for instance. Telco powerhouse AT&T is not only a cable provider but is also now the proud owner of Time Warner and its HBO networks and Warner Bros studio. Even e-commerce outfit Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has been dealing with something of an identity crisis, selling set-top boxes that deliver streaming video to consumers while simultaneously cultivating its own film and TV studio meant to make its Prime service even more marketable.
Amazon's role as an entertainment middleman has been a bit more nuanced than it's been for most other players in the TV business, though. Not only is it media and a medium, not unlike set-top streaming box market leader Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU), it also generates revenue by promoting certain services on its platforms. Translation: If it seems like a particular app or brand is being well promoted on your Amazon Fire TV stick, there's a good chance that company paid Amazon to be put in that spotlight.
Image source: Getty Images.
Source Fool.com
