The deal is more or less a replica of the pact CBS and Netflix struck in February: Access to relatively recent CBS shows that aren’t on the air anymore, like “Medium,” as well as library titles the network owns that aired elsewhere, like “Frasier” and “Cheers.” But no “in-season” episodes of anything.

CBS and Amazon aren’t talking about money, but Barclays analyst Anthony DiClemente pegged the value of the CBS/Netflix deal at $200 million over two years. It’s reasonable to assume that Amazon is paying the same rate for its shows, but spending less over all. That’s because the total value of the deal is likely based on Amazon’s subscriber base, which is much lower than Netflix’s.

UPDATE: Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker pegs the deal at “over $100 million,” over an 18-month term.

Amazon says the new titles will bring its streaming library up to 8,000 titles; Netflix boasts around 20,000 titles for its digital-only library. For now, Amazon’s Web video titles are free to customers who use its “Prime” delivery service, but industry observers assume that library access will also be a big part of the new iPad-like tablet the company is expected to unveil this fall.

Meanwhile, the deal underscores the best-case digital scenario for big media players like CBS — the company gets to take old shows and resell them multiple times (and maybe more, as Microsoft, Apple, and others eye the market), and doesn’t have to worry about cannibalization.

Things get much trickier when consumers decide they want to watch current programming, though. That stuff continues to be worth much more to studios and networks when it runs on broadcast or cable TV, but convincing viewers to play along is getting increasingly difficult.

Sacconaghi believes that Dell (DELL) isn’t interested in a “transformational” acquisition, though its interest in the handset market might suggest otherwise. Rather, the company is mulling the acquisition of small- to medium-sized enterprise-related companies.

“While there has been speculation that Dell could look to acquire a handset company and we continue to believe that a consolidation play in the PC space could make sense for additional details, Dell appears focused on boosting its enterprise business by acquiring small to medium sized companies with strong margin profiles and higher levels of recurring revenues,” Sacconaghi writes.

Which companies? Software, services or storage and networking outfits, most likely, says Sacconaghi. Companies like Perot Systems (PER), Salesforce.com (CRM), Compellant (CML) and 3Com (COMS).

“We see Dell potentially looking to acquire a smaller remote infrastructure management company, or a smaller outsourcer–Perot fits the latter description, and is possible, but it is unclear that it is a willing seller, and its unique concentration (50 percent) in healthcare may be too narrow a platform for Dell’s offerings,” the analyst writes.

“…Dell’s software acquisitions to date have largely centered around systems management and we believe that similar types of companies could be acquired to further expand Dell’s capabilities. Also in software, we believe that [Salesforce.com] would be strategically consistent with Dell’s efforts to drive business at mid to large enterprises, but would be expensive ($4.8B current market cap) and would have a limited impact on revenues ($1.1B in their last FY)….

“Given that Dell’s biggest enterprise partnership is in storage, we believe the company could look to acquire additional IP for its own use. Compellent and CommVault (CVLT) could be appropriate targets. We think a networking deal is less likely, but purchasing someone such as 3COM and attempting to commoditize the networking space would not be inconsistent with Dell’s stated enterprise strategy.”

An interesting list of targets. Still, you’ve got to wonder why it doesn’t include Palm (PALM). After all, Dell really can’t afford to miss out on the handheld market completely. Can it?