Amazon + Netflix??

Reading through the blogs I track this morning, I noticed this bit on Techdirt. It seems strange to me that Amazon is considering entering the DVD rental business... maybe some kind of advertising partnership or making Amazon the go-to place where you can buy the DVDs that you liked on Netflix would make sense, but not this, as far as I can tell.

According to the article, they like the idea:

It keeps Amazon from competing directly, and gives them access not only to Amazon's marketing reach, but also could allow them to better tie into Amazon's customer database and recommendation information -- which could strengthen Netflix's own recommendation offering.

I just really can't see why Amazon wouldn't just buy Netflix if it really wants to get into this market. What real motivation does Netflix have? I guess the marketing reach is tempting, but I honestly don't even know of any other online DVD rental service (I don't count Blockbuster) so to me that means that Netflix is top-of-mind.

We'll have to see how this pans out, I guess. The Netflix + Tivo combo makes much more sense to me, though, both as a business person and as a customer.