Amazon said its Fire TV platform now offers more than 4,000 channels, apps and games after adding more than 1,000 new offerings to the mix since September.
Among the recent additions are apps from broadcast and cable networks, including NBC, NBC Sports Live Extra, Watch HGTV, Watch Food Network, Watch Travel Channel, and Fox Now. Those complement existing apps for the platform such as HBO Now, Showtime Anytime, Starz Play, Hulu, and WatchESPN.
Amid the holiday buying frenzy, Amazon has also cut the price on the Fire TV Gaming edition – from $139.99 to $114.99. The Gaming Edition bundles in the Fire TV box, a game controller, two games (Shovel Knight and Disney DuckTales: Remastered) and a 32 gigabyte microSD card for expanded storage. The new 4K-capable Fire TV currently sells for $99, while the Fire TV Stick goes for $39.99.
Amazon hasn’t released Fire TV sales figures, but noted that Black Friday sales for the platform is up 6x year-over-year.
Amazon is expanding its app lineup for the Fire TV as competition in the OTT streaming sector stays hot. Of recent note, appFigures said more 2,624 apps are currently available for download for the new Apple TV.
About 14% of U.S. broadband homes plan to buy a streaming media player by mid-2016, according to a new forecast from Parks Associates, which also found that 31% of those homes owned one as of Q3 2015, up from 27% at the start of 2015.
