Amazon to have its own TV show

Amazon.com will be hosting a weekly on-line talk show hosted by Bill Maher.

With "Amazon Fishbowl With Bill Maher," Amazon.com Inc. is trying to blend commerce with entertainment, much as Starbucks Corp. sells CDs and DVDs alongside coffee to position its brand as a lifestyle. In an e-commerce twist on movie and TV product placement, Amazon will place links to buy the works discussed during the show beside the program's display window.

The first show will feature Stephen King flogging his latest book. King "plans to make Amazon his only broadcast appearance."

The company is betting that some of the nearly 50 million people who visit it each month to shop will take a few minutes to watch the show. Amazon was the seventh-most visited website in the United States in December, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

"Amazon gets a lot of traffic, and if they put it on their front page people will click on it," Card said. "The big question is whether they convert to actually buying the books and songs and movies they're promoting."

It's an interesting concept, and if it works, you can bet other retailers (both cyber and bricks & mortar) will follow. In any case, it's more media fragmentation.

By the way, how much do you think publishers will be charged to get their authors on the show?