uAmazon Reportedly In Talks To Create Live Pay-TV Servicer

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  Amazon already offers users a variety of ways to get on-demand television programing: Amazon Prime Video allows Prime subscription members the ability to download or stream a number of shows and movies for free. Now, the company is reportedly in talks to expand its video offerings with a live online pay-TV service.

  Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reports that the e-commerce giant has been in talks with major media companies about the creation of a live over the top service.

  Sources caution that the deliberations are still in very preliminary stages, but say that talks with CBS Corp. and Comcast’s NBC Universal about offering their channels date back several months.

  A spokesperson for Amazon declined to provide comment on the issue.

  Still, analysts say that offering the service isn’t far-fetched for the company, as they recently agreed to acquire Elemental Technologies, a platform that delivers live TV over over the Web.

  “Those I have spoken with haven’t disclosed how far along Amazon is with regards to a live OTT service,” Frost & Sullivan analyst Dan Rayburn wrote on his StreamingMediaBlog. “It’s possible Amazon is simply looking at the economics of the business, which would involve them talking with content owners about costs.”

  If the rumors of a pending live-TV option come to fruition, Amazon would be just the latest company to offer such a service.

  Dish, Sony, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and others have already started experimenting with bundles of channels delivered to consumers over the internet.

  Amazon Said to Weigh Creating a Online Pay-TV Service [Bloomberg]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist