Amazon: The BundlerNarrow moat
Netflix (NFLX) — moat facet
Amazon puts video inside a shopping membership, a rival whose video does not have to stand alone as a subscription.
Amazon competes with Netflix from inside a different business. Netflix's letter describes Amazon as owning a vast library through its acquisition of MGM Studios and investing more in sports with Thursday Night Football and a full slate of NBA games1. The video sits inside Prime, a shopping membership, so it does not have to stand alone as a subscription.
That makes Amazon a subsidised rival. It can bid for rights and shows with a different measure of return. Nielsen recorded Prime Video at a platform-best 4.5% of American television time in May 2026, boosted by live sports2, against Netflix's 8.0%3.
Netflix and Amazon also cooperate. Amazon's demand-side platform is integrated with Netflix's advertising globally4, so advertisers can buy Netflix inventory through Amazon's tools. The rival is also a sales channel.
Netflix's defence is focus: it earns its money from video, and it can afford to outspend on the shows its members want because it has more than 325 million paid memberships paying directly5.
The two companies' relationship shows how blurred the lines are. Netflix sells advertising through Amazon's demand-side platform6, while Amazon competes with it for live sports rights7. A company can be a supplier of tools, a rival for rights and a competitor for viewing at once.
Amazon's sports push is aimed at the same nights Netflix is buying. It carries Thursday Night Football and a full slate of NBA games8, while Netflix has expanded its own NFL schedule for 20269. Two rivals bidding for the same league raise the league's price, whichever of them wins.
The number to watch is Prime Video's share of TV time. At 4.5% it is a little over half of Netflix's; if it closes the gap on the back of sports rights Netflix chose not to buy, the bundle will have become a genuine substitute.
Prime Video 4.5% of US TV time, a platform best.
The subsidised bundle; closing on Netflix's 8.0% would mean it has become a real substitute.
Source: Nielsen, May 2026 Gauge ↗- ReportedNetflix's letter describes Amazon as owning a vast library through its acquisition of MGM Studios and investing more in sports with Thursday Night Football and a full slate of NBA games.Netflix fourth-quarter 2025 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - 325 million paid memberships, 2026 guidance, advertising revenue, named competitors, content licensing and the pause in buybacks. — Q4 2025 · publ. 20 January 2026 · source ↗
- Third-party estimateNielsen recorded Prime Video at a platform-best 4.5% of American television time in May 2026, boosted by live sports, against Netflix's 8.0%.Nielsen, 'Streaming embarks on annual summer ascent in Nielsen's May 2026 Gauge reports' - Media Distributor Gauge: YouTube 13.8% of TV watch time, Netflix 8.0%, Prime Video a platform-best 4.5%; Netflix helped by the acquired series La Brea. — May 2026 · publ. 28 July 2026 · source ↗
- Third-party estimateNielsen recorded Prime Video at a platform-best 4.5% of American television time in May 2026, boosted by live sports, against Netflix's 8.0%.Nielsen, 'Streaming embarks on annual summer ascent in Nielsen's May 2026 Gauge reports' - Media Distributor Gauge: YouTube 13.8% of TV watch time, Netflix 8.0%, Prime Video a platform-best 4.5%; Netflix helped by the acquired series La Brea. — May 2026 · publ. 28 July 2026 · source ↗
- ReportedAmazon's demand-side platform is integrated with Netflix's advertising globally, so advertisers can buy Netflix inventory through Amazon's tools.Netflix third-quarter 2025 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - the Brazil tax charge, the ads plan in 12 markets, US and UK view share and KPop Demon Hunters. — Q3 2025 · publ. 21 October 2025 · source ↗
- ReportedNetflix's defence is focus: it earns its money from video, and it can afford to outspend on the shows its members want because it has more than 325 million paid memberships paying directly.Netflix fourth-quarter 2025 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - 325 million paid memberships, 2026 guidance, advertising revenue, named competitors, content licensing and the pause in buybacks. — Q4 2025 · publ. 20 January 2026 · source ↗
- ReportedNetflix sells advertising through Amazon's demand-side platform, while Amazon competes with it for live sports rights.Netflix third-quarter 2025 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - the Brazil tax charge, the ads plan in 12 markets, US and UK view share and KPop Demon Hunters. — Q3 2025 · publ. 21 October 2025 · source ↗
- ReportedNetflix sells advertising through Amazon's demand-side platform, while Amazon competes with it for live sports rights.Netflix fourth-quarter 2025 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - 325 million paid memberships, 2026 guidance, advertising revenue, named competitors, content licensing and the pause in buybacks. — Q4 2025 · publ. 20 January 2026 · source ↗
- ReportedIt carries Thursday Night Football and a full slate of NBA games, while Netflix has expanded its own NFL schedule for 2026.Netflix fourth-quarter 2025 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - 325 million paid memberships, 2026 guidance, advertising revenue, named competitors, content licensing and the pause in buybacks. — Q4 2025 · publ. 20 January 2026 · source ↗
- ReportedIt carries Thursday Night Football and a full slate of NBA games, while Netflix has expanded its own NFL schedule for 2026.Netflix second-quarter 2026 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - quarterly results, regional revenue, 2026 guidance, view hours, live programming and advertising - programming, engagement, live events and product. — Q2 2026 · publ. 16 July 2026 · source ↗