what does smell blood in the water mean.

[watermark]

can someone explain the idiom "smell blood in the water" in the following text?

No wonder the stock is tanking, and competitors like Amazon and Apple, who have been beefing up their own streaming video services, smell blood in the water.

[SoothingDave]

Have you heard of the shark? When it smells blood in the ocean (water), great numbers of them come to feast on what is bleeding.

The implication is that some strong party is ready to come feast if it smells a weakness in another.

[watermark]

Now I get it. Thank you SoothingDave!

[amigos4]

can someone explain the idiom "smell blood in the water" in the following text?

No wonder the stock is tanking, and competitors like Amazon and Apple, who have been beefing up their own streaming video services, smell blood in the water.

Amazon and Apple see weakness in their competition. Competitor weakness equals an opportunity to attack! In essence, it's good-bye competition!!!