Amazon is preparing to shutter the doors on Freevee, its free, ad-supported streaming service housed within Prime Video.
The tech giant will soon phase out Amazon Freevee as it consolidates its content into Prime Video. Original series including “Jury Duty,” “Bosch: Legacy” and “Judy Justice” will remain on Prime Video without a paywall.
“We have built Prime Video into a first-stop entertainment destination where customers can personalize their viewing experience by streaming exclusive Prime member entertainment produced by Amazon MGM Studios, licensed movies and series, content from other services as an add-on subscription, live sports, blockbuster movies and series to rent or buy, FAST Channels and the complete Amazon Freevee content offering,” an Amazon spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“To deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding,” they announced. “There will be no change to the content available for Prime members, and a vast offering of free streaming content will still be accessible for non-Prime members, including select originals from Amazon MGM Studios, a variety of licensed movies and series, and a broad library of FAST Channels – all available on Prime Video.”
Markets where Freevee launched, including the U.S., U.K., Germany and Austria, will see its content now labeled “Watch for Free” as an offering for non-Prime users to enjoy without a membership.
No layoffs are expected from this development, since Freevee’s content team was already integrated into Amazon MGM Studios, and its business team was already part of the larger Prime Video umbrella.
The writing was on the wall for the phasing out of Amazon Freevee ever since Prime Video unveiled its ad tier in January. The company previously shut down rumors of Freevee’s shuttering in February. The streamer first launched as IMDb TV until a rebrand in 2022. Prime Video’s ad-supported tier, which serves as the default for all subscribers, is available to more than 200 million monthly viewers, including 115 million in the U.S.
Amazon Prime, which includes Prime Video, costs $14.99 per month or $139 a year. A membership that only includes Prime Video and none of the company’s shipping benefits costs $8.99 a month. Users can pay an extra $2.99 per month for an ad-free experience.
Amazon secured more than $1.8 billion in advertiser commitments for its streaming services during its inaugural upfront presentation in New York City — topping the tech company’s internal expectations.
“Advertising remains an important contributor to profitability in the North America and international segments. This quarter, we saw strong growth on an increasing large base of advertising revenue,” chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky told analysts during the company’s Q3 earnings call in October. “There are many opportunities to further expand our ads offering in areas that are driving growth today, like sponsored products, as well as more recent growth areas like Prime Video Ads.”
Deadline first reported the news.
