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Amazon developing pay-TV streaming service: report

A box from Amazon.com is pictured on the porch of a house in Golden, Colorado July 23, 2008. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is in the early stages of developing a pay-TV streaming service with live programming, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Amazon approached at least three media companies, according to people familiar with the matter, the Journal reported.

A representative for Amazon said, "We continue to build selection for Prime Instant Video and create original shows at Amazon Studios, but we are not planning to license television channels or offer a pay-TV service."A

Amazon now offers on-demand TV shows and movies free to customers who are members of Amazon's premium shipping service Prime.

The world's largest online retailer is joining the ranks of several other companies including Sony that are trying to own the living room with TV programming piped through the Internet. Intel tried as well, though it scrapped its ambitions and sold its project to Verizon earlier on Tuesday for an undisclosed sum.

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)