Fire TV free channels

More and more streaming platforms have discovered that many would rather watch free content than pay for it. That sounds like a no-brainer, right? Well, it's not. You see, it's not quite as simple as that. Nothing ever is.

TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

If something is free, there's a reason. Sometimes, it's because there are advertisements. Sometimes it's because they want your data, which they'll then sell or use to target advertising. Nothing is really free, it seems.

So back to where I started. More and more streaming platforms have discovered that many would rather watch free content than pay for it. And they've discovered that they can sell advertising within the free content, and if it's not too much or too intrusive, people will stay with it. People get free content and they get advertising dollars. Win-win.

Well, that's the idea, anyway. And it seems to work a lot. In fact, a recent news release from Amazon Fire TV touts their revamp of their free offerings:

... Fire TV customers can enjoy content from the NHL, Xbox, and TMZ, as well as an entirely new Travel category. Built for anyone seeking their next big adventure, the Travel category on Fire TV Channels offers guides and other resources on trending destinations. Content providers include: Tastemade Travel, Rick Steves' Europe, Travel Hacks (Pack Hacker), and coming soon, Condé Nast Traveler.

Fire TV Channels brings together premium free content that spans diverse customer interests from a growing list of household names like ABC News, CBS Sports HQ, FOX Sports, Major League Baseball, NBC News Now, Martha Stewart, and America’s Test Kitchen.

This means more free (ad-supported) content. Sure, some people would rather pay than watch ads, but there are a lot of people that want it for free, and will sit through the ads.

My Streaming Life is made up in part of many free ad-supported television (FAST) services. Amazon's expansion of theirs is a good thing.