Amazon Fire TV was the only one of the big three gateway TVOS platforms not to launch a free ad-supported content ecosystem, but that changed Tuesday with the introduction of Fire TV Channels.
Amazon used its NewFront presentation in New York to tout the new offering, which includes, at launch, content from NHL, Xbox and TMZ, among other publishers.
In all, Amazon says it has more than 400 publishing partners lined up for Fire TV Channels, also including Major League Baseball, Fox Sports, ABC News, CBS Sports, Condé Nast, Martha Stewart and the PGA, most of which will unfurl content on the platform starting this summer.
This content is available on streaming sticks, pucks and dongles, as well as, of course, smart TVs, powered by the Amazon Fire TV OS. You don't need an Amazon Prime Video subscription, or even the Amazon Freevee app for that matter, to stream it.
Amazon already had a finite amount of free content on the Fire TV platform. But like Roku and Google, which just made 800 FAST channels available on its Google TV OS, Amazon is upping the ante on free content.
“With the launch of Fire TV Channels, we’re doubling down on our free ad-supported TV (FAST) experience -- which already includes news, sports, food and
cooking, music videos, trailers, gaming videos, and comedy," said Charlotte Maines, director of Fire TV advertising, monetization and engagement, in a statement.
"In the past six months alone, monthly hours streamed of this content has grown by 300%. When our customers love something, we invest in creating more ways to surprise and delight them,” Maines added.
