Amazon set to unveil free video streaming service for Fire TV users

Amazon set to unveil free IMDb video streaming service for Fire TV users

  • Planning to share ad revenue with TV networks in return for shows
  • Talking with TV networks, movie studios and other media companies
  • Wants to dive into back catalogs of TV and movie studios for the service 

Amazon owned IMDb is expected to unveil a free video service for users of Fire TV gadgets.

Featuring past TV shows and movies, it will rely on targeted ads to make money.

It will be available to all Fire TV users, not just Amazon Prime subscribers, and will be branded as an IMDb service. 

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Amazon is set to unveil a free video service for users of its Fire TV gadgets. Featuring past TV shows and movies, it will rely on targeted ads to make money. It will be available to all Fire TV users, not just Amazon Prime subscribers. Pictured, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos 

The plans were confirmed by ‘several people with knowledge about the matter’ according to CNBC, and will let advertisers use Amazon’s first-party data and third-party consumer information to target advertising.

The service will reportedly be announced as part of Advertising Week this week.  

The Information previously claimed the ad supported service, tentatively called Free Dive, is separate from Amazon’s ad-free subscription Prime Video service, which rivals Netflix.

The company is in talks with major studios to license older TV shows for the new service, which is being developed by the e-commerce company’s movie and television information website IMDB. 


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‘Amazon.com is planning to launch a free, advertising-supported video service for the estimated 48 million people who use its Fire TV streaming video devices, say people familiar with the situation,’ the site says.

Highly profitable ad sales were a bright spot for Amazon last quarter, as the company’s revenue from the category and some other items grew 132 percent to $2.2 billion. 

Amazon last year denied claims it was developing a free version of its Prime Video service, telling Dailymail.com: ‘We have no plans to create a free, ad-supported version of Prime Video.’

The new service, however, is claimed to be a separate product. 

Amazon is already expected to spend almost $5 billion on content this year for its Prime Video service, according to Wall Street analysts. 

Amazon last year moved its Amazon Studios from Santa Monica to the Culver Studios lot in Los Angeles where ‘Citizen Kane’ was filmed.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently discussed his fame and fortune during an on-stage interview, conducted by his younger brother Mark against a backdrop of old family photos.

BEZOS GUIDE TO LIFE 

Never multitask: Key to Bezos’ philosophy is avoiding multitasking, preferring to concentrate on one job at a time until it is complete instead of constantly switching back and forth.

Be resourceful and resilient: Bezos spent his summers from age four to sixteen on an isolated farm owned by his grandfather, where he says he learned the value of self-reliance and surviving tough times.

Meet the right partner: The Amazon boss says he knew his wife of 24 years was the one due to her own resourcefulness.

Take risks and don’t have regrets: Bezos cited his own decision to quit his profitable job working in finance software engineering on Wall Street to start the internet book store that would become Amazon.

Approach problems with ‘child-like curiosity’:  People often believe you have to be a ‘domain expert’ to find solutions to problems. ‘But the danger is that once you’re a domain expert, you can be trapped by that knowledge,’ said Bezos. He recommends approaching things with childlike curiosity.

Among the revelations attributed by Bezos building his almost $95 billion worth were meeting the right partner, never multitasking and approaching problems with a ‘child-like curiosity.’ 

Bezos made the comments at the Summit Series, an invite-only event held in Los Angeles for leaders across multiple fields, from business to the arts.

High on his list of priorities was his resourceful wife, who he met after a series of blind dates organised by friends, according to reports in Tech Crunch.

The Blue Origin founder says he knew he’d found the one in MacKenzie, and the pair have now been married for 24 years.

‘I wanted someone who could get me out of a third-world prison,’ he said at the Summit Series.

Also key to Bezos’ philosophy is avoiding multitasking, preferring to concentrate on one job at a time until its complete instead of constantly switching back and forth.

‘When I have dinner with friends or family, I like to be doing whatever I’m doing,’ he added.

‘I don’t like to multi-task. If I’m reading my email I want to be reading my email’. 

He said thatPeople often believe you have to be a ‘domain expert’ to find solutions to problems. 

‘But the danger is that once you’re a domain expert, you can be trapped by that knowledge,’ said Bezos. 

He recommends approaching things with childlike curiosity. 

During the intimate conversation, Bezos also discussed his early life and the valuable lessons that he learned. 

Bezos spent his summers from age four to sixteen on an isolated farm owned by his grandfather.

It was there he says that he learned the value of self-reliance and surviving tough times.

He also espoused the value of taking risks and not having regrets in life.


Among the revelations attributed by Bezos to his prosperity were meeting his wife Mackenzie , as well as dedicating all of his energies to the task at hand. Over the years, the billionaire’s public image has transformed from a bookish figure to a man of action

Bezos cited his own decision to quit his profitable job working in finance software engineering on Wall Street to start the internet book store that would become Amazon.

He said: ‘I knew that when I was 80, I was not going to regret having tried this.

‘I was not going to regret trying to participate in this thing called the Internet that I thought was going to be a really big deal. I knew that if I failed, I wouldn’t regret that.

‘But I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. I knew that that would haunt me every day.’

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