Several major business providers verified to News. A spokesperson for Amazon refused to comment but indicated there will be many to say in the future weeks about its works in online video.
Currently, subscribers to Amazon Prime get TV, movies, and music, as well as free transportation on online purchases. They can also pay more for premium channels such as HBO and Showtime, along with a multitude of niche-interest services on matters such as health or horror.
As established pay-TV providers peel down their contributions into cheaper so-called skinny bundles, Amazon is watching to scoop up smaller TV courses with minimum distribution in order to build itself into a video stop for every possible niche, with a special focus on millennial fans. Many systems have channels like these, including Turner Broadcasting’s Adult Swim and Boomerang, or Viacom’s VH1 and CMT.
“They are doubling down on the channels industry,” said one industry programmer who claimed not to be identified because they are included in the talks. “They’re involved in doing deals with smaller indie networks where they can get benefits to carriers that are not handcuffed into traditional distribution packages and they’re involved in offering them individually. Eventually, they may bundle them collectively.”
Customers can already be going to buy scores of video services on Amazon, including Viacom’s Comedy Central Stand-up for $3.99, or Britbox, which gives British shows for $6.99. Amazon splits the income with channel owners.
Industry insiders say that Greg Hart, vice president of Amazon Video, is initiating the current talks, aimed at building a global platform for new online TV channels.
Tom Rogers, the former chief executive of TiVo and administrative chairman of the sports app WinView, who is close to Amazon’s business, said Amazon may even want to offer the paid add-on channels as part of the Prime Video trying to boost their audience.
That possibility, he said, “could have more influence on the TV industry than any other expansion down the road.”
Analysts consider Prime has some 66 million subscribers, who pay $99 a year for the service.
Big tech businesses are getting increasingly aggressive in the online video market. Just last week, The Wall Street Journal announced that Facebook intends to spend $1 billion on content to improve its online video audience. In late August, reports showed Apple had similarly earmarked $1 billion for content.
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