Amazon plans new video app for Fire TV users: The Information

(Reuters) - Amazon.com plans to launch an advertising-supported video service for users of its Fire TV streaming devices, news website The Information reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is pictured inside the company's office in Bengaluru, India, April 20, 2018. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa/File Photo

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.

The new free service, tentatively called Free Dive, is separate from Amazon’s ad-free subscription Prime Video service, which rivals Netflix, the report said.

Amazon was not immediately available for comment.

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.

Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber

(Original source)