Amazon buys DVD-on-demand site

Amazon.com has purchased a DVD-on-demand site in an effort to broaden its portfolio of digital media services.

Amazon's purchase last week of CustomFlix, a Santa Cruz, Calif.-based company that produces and sells independently produced DVDs, follows closely on its buying BookSurge this spring. BookSurge prints books on demand.

"Amazon considers this an additional way of offering customers a wider array of titles, of more niche titles, than it already does," company spokeswoman Patty Smith said. "We're always trying to help customers find what they're looking for online."

The CustomFlix buy also follows industry speculation that Amazon would be expanding its DVD operations, though those predictions have centered around the rental side of the business.

Amazon would not disclose terms of the CustomFlix buy, which closed July 6.