More U.S. households in the near future "will be subscribers of Amazon Prime than cable or satellite TV," according to Morningstar data cited by Del Rey & Molla of RECODE. Morningstar estimates "nearly 79 million U.S. households now have an Amazon Prime membership, up from around 66 million at the end of last year." That compares to data from S&P Global showing that a "projected 90 million U.S. households that will pay for cable or satellite TV this year." According to these estimates, "more U.S. households may have an Amazon Prime subscription than a pay TV subscription as soon as next year." The "implication here is not that Amazon’s Prime Video service is more popular than TV," but that an "indication that Prime is moving toward becoming a 'no-brainer' for more than just wealthy Americans" (RECODE.net, 7/9). RECODE's Rani Molla writes Amazon has "long been wreaking havoc on the retail world, but this past month has been especially troubling for Amazon competitors of all kinds." Even a distribution deal is "enough to send Amazon competitors into a tailspin." Amazon's new partnership with Nike to sell its sneakers last month "caused the value of a number of sporting goods competitors to drop to the tune of a half billion dollars since." But this "all could just be temporary." When Amazon "expanded into GrubHub’s restaurant delivery territory" in '15, GrubHub's "stock took a hit." Since then, however, its stock price and market value have "more than recovered" (RECODE.net, 7/10).
