Amazon Introduces ‘Fire TV Channels’ Free Streaming Service to Compete With Roku, VIZIO, Samsung
There’s no such thing as too much free streaming, at least in Amazon’s view. The company, which already operates a free streaming platform in Freevee, and offers a 30-day free trial to its subscription video service Prime Video, has announced it is rolling out a new hub for free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels and on-demand content called “Fire TV Channels.”
As the name suggests, Fire TV Channels is only available to users of Amazon Fire TV-branded TVs and streaming devices. The service will begin rolling out this week and does not require users to sign up or enter any kind of payment information.
Customers can now access live, on-demand, and short-form Fire TV Channels content within dedicated rows on the Fire TV Home screen, within the “Free” tab, and from category-specific pages that let customers go deep on the genres they care about most. Starting today, Fire TV customers can enjoy new content from the NHL, Xbox, and TMZ, as well as an entirely new Travel category. Soon, Fire TV Channels will launch content from new providers including Condé Nast and the PGA.
“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 & Cooking, Music Videos, Trailers, Gaming Videos, and Comedy,” Fire TV’s Charlotte Maines said. “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. Fire TV is breaking barriers by living up to the ‘smart’ in ‘smart TV.’ With Fire TV Channels, we’re delivering a simple, category-based experience that makes it easy to discover what you want to watch while constantly expanding content offerings.”
Fire TV Unveils Fire TV Channels:
With the introduction of Fire TV Channels, Amazon will be working with over 400 “content publishing partners,” though it remains to be seen if this is truly the number of overall channels the service will launch with. If Fire TV Channels launches with more than 400 individual networks, it would surpass The Roku Channel (350+ channels) and Pluto TV (250+ channels) immediately in terms of total channel count.
The biggest difference between Freevee and Fire TV Channels is that the latter service will only be available to Fire TV device users. That brings Amazon in line with companies like VIZIO and Samsung, who manufacture their own devices and use them as a platform for a free streaming service exclusive to that brand with VIZIO WatchFree+ and Samsung TV Plus, respectively. Roku does something similar, though its streaming service The Roku Channel is not exclusive to the company’s smart TVs and streaming players.
Between this launch and the rollout of 100 Prime Video titles on Freevee, Amazon is bulking up its free TV offerings quite heavily in 2023. The new selections on Fire TV Channels are available now, and a dedicated Fire TV Channels destination is coming later this summer.
Amazon Fire TV
Amazon Fire TV is a streaming device that can be used to watch Live TV Streaming Services and On Demand Streaming Services.
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