I’m very encouraged by the latest Netflix news.  In short, Neflix is going to start providing exclusive original programming, starting with “House of Cards”, starring Kevin Spacey (good actor!).  I think this is a great move for the content industry — it puts Netflix squarely in the same place that HBO, Showtime and other premium networks are in without the burden of actually having to deal with the cable companies.  If this goes well, look for further disintermediation of the cable companies — HBO and Showtime will want to sell their programming directly over the Internet as well.  This will help commoditize the cable operators, which is why it was so important that Comcast move out of that business by buying NBC.  We’re watching the transformation of these industries and it’s pretty exciting.