In response to Christine
Do you think Comcast will be able to compete against Netflix who already has a solid base of customers?
Is their simple marketing strategy of making their product cost less than Netflix enough to make them successful?

After my recent post about Amazon and Viacom making a deal I couldn't help but post about yet another competitor of Netflix.  Now not one, but two already formidable companies in the technology sector are jumping on board what used to be pretty much a one man show of streaming movies and TV shows.  Hulu is another company that is gaining a large market value in this area as well.  

From a consumer point of view, this can only mean good things.  All of these businesses are completely legitimate and have no legal ramifications to the end user.  Due to the increased competition in order to compete these companies will either A need to have a better price than the others, or B have a better, easier to use, and larger selection than the competitors.  Hulu and Amazon are trying to do a combination of the two.  They are both offering free selections as well as some that are paid.  Comcast is trying to offer the cheapest option while still offering a huge variety.  As of this point, Netflix still has the largest selection as well as the largest consumer base, which unless there is a clearly better alternative will most likely leave what they already have.  

Can you think of any other players that may want to get involved in this still relatively new market?  How will cell phone providers handle this influx of competition?  

Linsanity

Lin's marketing potential

As an avid viewer of sports, and particularly Sports Center, this new guy Jeremy Lin’s name has been mentioned more than just a few times.  A recent Harvard graduate, who was cut from two NBA teams before getting a job as a reserve player on the Knicks has seen his career go in a direction that he couldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams.  He was so strapped for cash; he was sleeping on his brother’s couch in his apartment in New York City.  He went from a nobody to the talk of the country in three short games.  Creating a spark for a team that seemed to be headed anywhere but in the direction of the playoffs, Jeremy Lin has lead the Knicks to some huge wins against some big teams, including his buzzer beater, three point shot as well as taking down Kobe Bryant and his always formidable Lakers.

Not only has he been a dream come true for sports fans, but marketers are gawking at the opportunities this guy presents as well.  He is the fourth Asian American to play in the NBA, one of the first that can tap into the huge potential of a market in Asia.  Not only is he a huge opportunity for American companies to relate to Asia, but he is also the epitomy of the American dream.  He is a hard worker, underdog and over achiever, something that is exactly what everybody wants to cheer for. 

Ronn Torossian CEO and President of 5W Public Relations claims Lin has more potential than Tiger Woods pre-scandal and even more than Michael Jordan.  Jeremy Lin has sparked interest that the NBA hasn’t had since the lockout and has better ratings than ever.  The only way he will be able to live up to his potential is for him to keep putting up huge numbers. 

Do you think Jeremy Lin will be able to keep his incredible run going or will he join the plethora of other burnouts who seemed to squander their potential?  Most people are rooting for him, from an economical as well as a personal point of view, but let’s see if he can “put out” like we are all beginning to expect him to for the long run.