Amazon policy change means millions can claim huge free perk – TV fans can’t ignore ‘surprise gift’
AMAZON has announced a set of TV policy changes, allowing customers in the U.S. to access a range of new programs.
The tech giant expanded its ad-supported offerings to customers who have a Fire TV.
Amazon said that television watchers with Fire TV will have more programs to watch on its free and ad-supported (FAST) channels.
The Fire TV announcement will bring loads of new content to Amazon subscribers - from producers like the NHL, Xbox, and TMZ.
The new rollout included a "travel"; section, including shows from Tastemade Travel and eventually Conde Naste.
Amazon also said the expansion of offerings will soon include streaming of PGA tournaments.
The company said the move to expand offerings was prompted by growing customer demand.
"We’ve offered some of this [FAST] content for a while for customers," Fire TV's director of advertising, monetization, marketing and engagement Charlotte Maines said to .
"We’ve seen that they’ve been engaging with it when we surface it in a topical way.
"What we’ve seen in the past six months alone is that the monthly hours streamed of this content have grown by 300 percent."
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The company said that Fire TV customers won't pay for any of the new content.
The expansion is based on ad revenue - effectively trading in consumer subscription costs for a few extra seconds of advertisement watching.
Amazon's reach advertisers is wide - the company said there are 200million global Fire TV devices.
It also stated that most Fire TV users are Amazon Prime members.
AMAZON'S COMPETITION
Amazon flexed its muscles with size - but it is not the only competitor in the TV provider market.
Google TV also announced an expansion of 800 new channels on its FAST network.
YouTube procured deals with the NFL to stream Sunday Ticket - a popular viewing option for football fans.