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.com is reportedly cooking up a new free, ad-supported video service — with TV shows and music videos — to complement its subscription VOD offering. But it isn’t clear what content might be available through it, which would be the major factor in deciding its success or failure.
The new service could launch in the coming months, and “likely” will feature original series, the Wall Street Journal
, citing anonymous sources. That could potentially include Amazon Studios’ Silicon Valley comedy “
,” the report said. That 11-episode series was one the retailer’s first original series launched last fall (and currently available only to members of the Prime free-shipping program), with
the first three episodes available for free
.
The free video content also “may include” licensed TV programming, according to the report. It’s worth noting that Amazon recently let programming deals with
Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks Interactive
expire for the Prime Instant Video service. So it’s not certain exactly what Amazon would be willing to pay to acquire rights for a free service, and whether it would be designed to compete with Hulu’s free offering with hundreds of TV shows.
SEE ALSO: Amazon Drops Discovery and Scripps Shows, with Scripps the Bigger Loser
On the music side, Amazon would offer free, ad-supported music videos within its e-commerce catalog, according to the Journal.
Meanwhile, the company today announced a press event for next Wednesday in New York to announce “an update on our video business” with Peter Larsen, VP of Amazon’s Kindle division. That event could be the unveiling of Amazon’s
, rumored to be a dongle-like adapter similar to Google’s Chromecast that would offer Prime Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu and other services.
An Amazon rep did respond to a request for comment. In January,
the company denied a Wall Street Journal report
that it was seeking to license TV channels to launch a broadband-delivered television service.
In its report Thursday, the WSJ said Amazon might delay the free streaming-media project “or alter it because of financial or other concerns.”
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Amazon Studios’ “Betas” launched last fall with
political comedy “Alpha House” starring John Goodman
. The company is unlikely to renew the series for a second season, but has discussed producing the show for the ad-supported streaming service, the WSJ reported.
Meanwhile, Amazon is gearing up to greenlight a second wave of original series. Out of the 10 pilots released last month for feedback, the company has ordered at least four — dramas “Bosch” and “The After” and comedies “Mozart in the Jungle” and “Transparent” — to full series,
Variety
.
Earlier this month, Amazon announced that it is
raising the price of its Prime free-shipping program
for U.S. members, from $79 to $99 per year. But the company has said rising content-licensing costs for Prime Instant Video did not figure into that price hike.
2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC