Amazon has been in the headlines today because of the deal it has struck with the Tolkien Estate to produce a new Middle Earth series. But what may have escaped people’s attention is the news that they may actually be coming up with a free video streaming service for those who are willing to suffer through ad-supported video content. It will complement its Prime streaming video service where users pay $99 a year for various Prime user freebies and at the same time give a platform for advertisers that are now losing air time.
Since people are continually shifting to on-demand video services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video itself, there is no more room for brands that still want to advertise to the video-viewing public. And so what Amazon is reportedly developing can allow advertisers to push their products and also allow people who don’t want to pay a monthly service fee to watch TV shows for free. The catch, of course, is you have to “endure” these ads in the middle of your TV show binge.
This can also give Amazon an advantage over the really tough competition ongoing among the various video streaming services. Offering a free service, even if it comes with an advertising catch, will definitely appeal to viewers looking for free content. And if part of that offering is the excellent Amazon original shows like Man in the High Castle, Mozart in the Jungle, Transparent, etc, then it should be a no-brainer. Oh, and we did mention the Tolkien series they’re developing right?
Insiders are saying that Amazon is currently in negotiations with TV networks, movie studios, and other media companies that they want to be part of this free service. Part of what these companies and advertisers will be asking, of course, would be audience information and ad revenue. Let’s see if this actually pans out and what it will mean for the video streaming industry.
VIA: Ad Age
