Amazon is deepening its ad-supported video strategy with the launch of a new customizable news app featuring content from CBS, Bloomberg and others.
Starting today, the News app will begin rolling out to Fire TV owners in the U.S. The app will appear on the Fire TV home screen over the course of the next few weeks. The News app will also come soon to Fire tablets.
In addition to Bloomberg and CBS News, Amazon’s news app will include clips from Reuters, Huffington Post, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Entertainment, AOL News, Al Jazeera, People, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, Cheddar, Newsy and Wochit. Users can pick from their preferred news sources as well as choose content by category. Amazon said that more news providers, more categories and additional Alexa features will arrive over time.
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Once users complete customization, news from their preferred provider will automatically start playing, and they can see all their channels under ‘My News’ in the order they selected during customization. Users can also browse what’s coming up without leaving the content they’re watching by using the control menu or voice controls including skip to the next story, pause, rewind or fast-forward.
The app will also provide access to live news from CBS News and Yahoo. Amazon said it will be adding more live news channels before the end of the year.
Amazon’s news app expands on the company’s existing ad-supported streaming strategy that includes IMDb TV. The company said that IMDb TV will launch in Europe later this year. A spokesperson declined to elaborate on which countries in Europe will get IMDb TV but said more details will be revealed later this year.
Earlier this summer, IMDb TV announced plans to triple its content lineup and add thousands of new titles. The service signed recent deals with studios, including Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Entertainment and MGM Studios, and added titles, including “La La Land.”