Going Beyond E-Books, Barnes & Noble Nook Launches Digital Video Service
Barnes & Noble, looking to capitalize on its fast-growing digital business, is launching a Nook-branded video streaming service that, at first glance, looks a lot like Amazon's and Google's online video services.
Context & Ripple Effects
Barnes & Noble had spent several years building Nook beyond a bookstore counter, from its early effort to challenge Kindle to a $139 touch-enabled reader in 2011 and Nook software on Android in 2010. The video launch extends that digital-service strategy from reading into a broader media offering.
The service enters a field already framed by Amazon and Google’s online video products, making Nook’s appeal less dependent on e-books alone and more on the breadth of services attached to its brand.
First-order effects
- Barnes & Noble gives Nook customers a branded video-streaming option, broadening the product line from e-books and reading devices into digital entertainment.
- Amazon and Google gain another competitor seeking to aggregate video viewing under its own retail and device brand.
Second-order effects
- Nook’s competitive position shifts toward the completeness of its media service alongside its reading experience, rather than hardware price or e-book access alone.
- Amazon and Google face added pressure to keep their video services differentiated for customers who may also choose a Nook ecosystem.
Third-order effects
- If retailers continue attaching multiple media services to reading brands, e-readers are likely to be judged as gateways to broader digital libraries rather than as single-purpose book devices.
The trend: Digital reading brands are evolving into multi-format media ecosystems designed to retain customers across books, apps and video.