Amazon says it’s sticking with Freevee, knocking down claims that it will “sunset” the free ad-supported streaming service following the arrival of ads on Prime Video.
“There are no changes to Freevee,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement emailed to TechHive. “Amazon Freevee remains an important streaming offering providing both Prime and non-Prime customers thousands of hit movies, shows, and Originals, all for free.”
The comment comes after a story in AdWeek reported that Amazon will “likely shutter” Freevee during the second quarter of the year, with Prime Video absorbing the service’s content.
Freevee used to be Amazon’s only ad-supported streaming service, which originally began as IMDb Freedive in 2019. About six months later, the service was rebranded as IMDb TV, before getting relanched again as Freevee in April 2022.
Besides its licensed content, the free and ad-supported Freevee is the home to several original shows, including Bosch: Legacy.
Freevee’s biggest hit is the clever and often hilarious Jury Duty, a reality show in which an unsuspecting juror served in a fake trial populated by actors, including James Marsden.
But Freevee became redundant—or at least, it certainly seemed to–once Amazon began running ads on Prime Video last month, and according an anonymous AdWeek source, “Freevee is not long for this world.”
Folding Freevee into Prime Video would make it easier for Amazon to sell ads on the service, while offering Amazon a “streamlined means to convert” free viewers into paying subscribers, according to AdWeek.
The strategy would involve rebranding Freevee—again—as a new free and ad-supported tier of Prime Video, AdWeek reported.
There would then be a second Prime Video tier that’s ad-supported but requires a subscription (basically, the one most of us are on now), and finally the premium ad-free tier (the one that costs $2.99 a month extra).
That all makes sense, but Amazon’s strong denial suggests that even if it had contemplated closing down Freevee, it’s since moved on from such a plan, at least for now.
The arrival of ads on Prime Video has sparked plenty of controversy, including a proposed class-action lawsuit.
Amazon has also pulled Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos from the now ad-supported version of Prime Video.
Updated shortly after publication with Amazon’s denial that it will shutter Freevee.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.