We heard back in 2014 that Amazon was thinking about developing a free version of its Amazon Prime Video streaming service. The company was to launch it as an ad-supported service. Amazon has denied these reports in the past, but these rumors have surfaced again recently.
A new report claims that Amazon is in fact developing a free ad-supported version of Amazon Prime Video.
Ad Age is reporting that Amazon is in talks with TV networks, media companies, and movie studios to get them to provide programming for this free service. Some reports have claimed that the free service will exist alongside the paid option that’s also offered as part of the $99 per year Amazon Prime subscription. The new report doesn’t contradict this. If true, it would be interesting to see how this works for the company.
Amazon Prime Video users don’t have to watch advertisements right now. The company did put ads inside the National Football League games this season and it has also offered some opportunities for brand integrations, but that’s it. A full ad-supported streaming service would be different. Users will be able to access the content for free as long as they are willing to watch the video ads. This would allow Amazon to bring in a lot more viewers and take them away from competitors. No comment from Amazon yet.
Source Ubergizmo