If you subscribe to one of three rinky-dink (comparatively speaking) cable companies, you’ll now be able to watch Netflix as if it were just another channel—provided you already have a certain type of set-top box. You’ll still need to subscribe to Netflix, but you won’t need another filter—a Netflix-ready TV, Roku, PlayStation, etc.—in order to do it. In other words, Netflix has just become a pay-cable channel, albeit one that you pay directly, unlike HBO, which is generally bundled into cable bills or stolen via HBO Go. (The companies: RCN, Grande Communication, and Atlantic Broadband. Expect more of a fight from your Time-Warners and your Comcasts.) This probably signals no change at all for most Netflix users, but it certainly has the potential to open up the network(?) to new subscribers.
In other mega-corp news, Amazon just launched Prime Pantry, part of the company’s plan to break your UPS driver’s back and make you a complete shut-in. Amazon, which has long sold things like toothpaste and toilet paper (hell yeah, subscribe-n-save), has expanded its household and grocery items, and will deliver up to 45 pounds of products for $5.99 (no, not including the cost of the stuff). It’s actually measured in cubic inches, and as you fill up your box, it lets you know how much room is left—so basically, grocery shopping is like Tetris now. You must be an Amazon Prime subscriber to use the service, though, and the price recently went up for that privilege. (It now includes a ton of HBO shows, though, so… totally worth it.)