Netflix, Amazon drive up price for Hollywood content, conferees told

The growing clout of Netflix and Amazon was felt at a San Francisco conference focused on the future of TV. As the rival services bid against one another for exclusive rights to popular movies and TV shows, in a manner that recalls the rivalry between premium cable networks HBO and Showtime, the fallout has been unmistakable, said Shawn Strickland, chief executive of Redbox Instant by Verizon. Bidding wars are probably music to the ears of Hollywood executives, seeking to obtain top dollar for digital rights to popular TV shows. But it also raises the barrier for those seeking to enter the rapidly growing Internet video market.