Amazon warming up 'cheapo web video' cannon to SINK Netflix

Amazon is preparing an online video-streaming service that will be stuffed with ads – and undercut rivals Netflix and Hulu Plus, it has been reported.

The New York Post cited unnamed sources in reporting that Jeff Bezos' behemoth is readying a cheap version of the web telly service you get with a $99-a-year Amazon Prime account.

We're told the ad-backed streaming service will go online early next year. We're assuming it'll work with Amazon's Fire Stick HDMI dongle.

The web bazaar did not have much to say on the Post's article, although it gave us this non-denial denial:

We’re often experimenting with new offers and experiences for customers, but we have not announced any plans to offer an ad-supported video streaming service.

Perhaps the biz will let more slip more later in the year, or in early January at the CES conference in Las Vegas.

According to a recent estimation from network management biz Sandvine, streaming services are booming in use. Sandvine estimates that in North America alone, Netflix accounts for as much as 35 per cent of all downstream traffic during peak hours.

Amazon, meanwhile, accounted for just 2.6 per cent of the downstream traffic observed in the study. ®