Amazon is planning to launch a free, advertising-based video service for the estimated 48 million users of its Fire TV streaming video devices, according to a number of sources close to the company.

Video streaming has been hugely profitable for Amazon over the past couple of years, culminating in a massive 132 per cent jump in revenue to US$2.2 billion in that category last quarter.

The company is expected to spend almost US$5 billion on content this year for its Prime Video service and has previously denied any intention to offer an exclusively free service, ad-based service.

The new service, tentatively called Free Dive, is likely to offer free streaming content consisting largely of a number of back-catalogue shows, to anyone who owns an Amazon Fire TV stick.

Amazon already has 48 million customers who own some kind of Fire TV device and any new streaming service would not only attract prospective customers to Amazon’s ecosystem, but would also be a large potential source of ad revenue, according to analysts.

There is no indication yet from the company of when Free Dive will launch.