Hey Netflix, Did Amazon Just Pull a Coup?

The year 2013 may be a big one for Internet-streaming service providers and a bad one for traditional cable television. Rising costs have increasingly pushed American viewers to forgo their cable subscriptions in favor of high-speed streaming services, according to a 2012 study by the ISI Group. You can’t blame them. A 100-plus channel package can cost upward of $70 to 100 a month, while services such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime cost approximately $8 per month or less.

Content is the main tie viewers have to cable. With Internet-streaming services, access to a varied selection of just-broadcasted television shows and recently released movies can be limited by the deals companies secure with content providers. Netflix is especially well known for its difficulties in securing enough new content to draw in subscribers.

But with Internet services becoming a more financially appealing option, cable networks must rethink how they license content. Amazon, in an effort to leave its competitors in the dust, has shown that the era of restricted content may be nearing the end. Recently, the company made the push to increase its library of videos, and it has even gone so far as to begin developing its own content.

And now, the Internet retailer has gained the rights to stream CBS (NYSE:CBS) show “Under the Dome” exclusively, beginning three days after the episodes are broadcast on television…