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Amazon wants to add more news programming to Fire TV

The tech giant is apparently reaching out to news organizations on a new app.

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benrubin.jpg
Ben Fox Rubin Former senior reporter
Ben Fox Rubin was a senior reporter for CNET News in Manhattan, reporting on Amazon, e-commerce and mobile payments. He previously worked as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and got his start at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Ben Fox Rubin
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A Toshiba smart TV with Amazon's Fire TV platform built in.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Amazon is reportedly working on a new app for its Fire TV devices that's all about news.

The company has reached out in recent weeks to several news organizations to help it create a free, ad-supported video news app, according to a report Friday from The Information, which cited three unnamed sources in its story. 

It's not clear if any of the videos on the new app would be exclusive content. The app is expected to launch in the next few months, and Amazon wants to integrate the new app into its Alexa platform after that.

The effort, if true, could help Amazon build up its advertising business, which is seeing strong growth, though it's still small compared with Google's and Facebook's ad revenue. The app could also allow Amazon to catch up to main streaming-video rival Roku , whose Roku Channel already offers news from ABC News and Yahoo.

This work comes at a time when many traditional media players are pushing into streaming video, hoping to capture cord-cutting customers and compete against Netflix.

Amazon didn't respond to a request for comment.

Amazon Fire TV streaming devices have over 30 million active users, Amazon said in January. That number appears to put Fire TV ahead of Roku, which most recently reported 27 million active accounts.

Friday's report comes days after Apple announced a new magazine and newspaper subscription service, called Apple News Plus, pointing to increased potential interest in news content from big tech.