Hulu may have ditched its free, ad-supported movie and TV streaming service to focus on subscription-only content (which still has ads unless you pay extra to remove them), but now it looks like Amazon is planning to move in the opposite direction.
According to a report from Ad Age, Amazon is looking to launch an ad-supported version of its Prime Video service, which is currently only available to paying Amazon Prime subscribers.
Amazon is reportedly talking to TV networks and movie studios about the project, which could theoretically serve a couple of different purposes.
A new ad-supported version of Amazon Prime Video could provide a new revenue stream for Amazon, as well as additional revenue for content creators who license their programming to Amazon.
The service could also expose more viewers to Amazon’s original content including highly-regarded shows such as Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, and One Mississippi. That, in turn, could tempt some more customers to pony up some extra cash for an ad-free experience… and once they’ve done that, maybe they’ll be a little more likely to buy products from Amazon, since Prime membership also includes free 2-day shipping on thousands of items.
According to AdAge, the content available on Amazon’s ad-supported service might be a bit different from what’s found on Amazon Prime Video today. Among other things, the company is said to be looking into “back catalog” movies and TV shows as well as “lifestyle, travel, cooking and other shows that are a good fit for an e-commerce platform.”
I’m already disappointed in Amazon serving ads before my currently paid content, so I find it hard to justify the carrot being an “ad-free experience” in this presumed plan. If it gets any worse, I may turn to pirating content I have legal access to.