Amazon will shut down Freevee, its free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service. The service's content has already been migrated over to Prime Video, and new episodes of Freevee shows will be available to people who don't pay for Prime, Deadline reported. The brand will be phased out "over the coming weeks," Deadline says. The update will be deployed in the territories where Freevee is currently available: the U.S., UK, Germany, and Austria. The content labeled Freevee will be designated for non-Prime customers as "Watch for Free" on detail pages.
No layoffs related to the move are expected. As part of previous restructurings, Freevee's content team had already been integrated into Amazon MGM Studios; its business team has been part of Prime Video. With the consolidation, Amazon is leaning into Prime Video as a hybrid destination for Prime members and non-members. It is broader than a typical streamer as it also offers new and old movies to rent or buy, a library of FAST Channels, as well as a sample of Prime Video originals in front of the paywall,
Freevee initially launched out of Amazon-owned IMDb in 2019 as IMDb Freedive and was rebranded a few months after launch to IMDb TV and then to Freevee in 2022. The service had some of its own original content, like" "Bosch: Legacy"" and ""ury Duty," "Amazon also added some Prime Video content to the service starting in 2023. However, Adweek reported in February that Amazon was planning to sunset the brand. Following the introduction of ads on Prime Video in January, the company's video streaming offerings had gotten a bit muddy.
"To deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding," "an Amazon spokesperson says in a statement to Deadline. "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."
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