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Amazon reportedly asking YouTube producers to offer short clips on Instant Video

Amazon has long made a big deal of selling bite-sized books, and there's new signs that it may extend that love of short-form content to video. AdAge claims that Amazon has been pitching YouTube channel producers on bringing their work to Instant Video; they'd get both branded pages and the option of charging for clips. The company is reportedly also asking media outlets if they'd be willing to play videos on search result pages in exchange for ad revenue. Amazon hasn't signed any deals so far, according to the tipsters, and it has supposedly put off some discussions until 2014. If the web giant starts landing agreements, however, it could start competing directly with purveyors of free video -- not just pay-only services like iTunes and Netflix.