Amazon Prepping Free Version Of Prime Video Supported By Ads: Report

Now, however, it looks as though Amazon is looking for an even wider audience for its streaming video services according to AdAge. This new, free variant of its streaming service would be available for anyone in a supported region to access the content. However, the big "catch" is that it will be ad-supported.

According to the publication, Amazon may be looking to share ad revenue and subscriber information with partners in order to fund this new venture. In fact, Amazon is reportedly even thinking about giving content creators an avenue to set up their own channels with revenue sharing agreements put in place.

"Amazon is doubling down on its own media and content, and thinking about how to make that available," said one advertising exec that spoke with AdAge. "The way to do that is a freemium model."

It's reported that this "freemium" version of Prime Video will have an extensive back catalog of older TV shows and movies, along with a lot of additional programming tailored for children. One insider says that Amazon will also offer programming aimed at the cooking, travel, and lifestyle sectors.

This is just the latest effort by Amazon to battle Netflix, which captures the lion's share of the mindshare (and headlines) when it comes to cord-cutting streamers. However, it remains to be seen if customers will be willing to once again sit through commercials, even if it means that they will have access to "free" content.