Amazon Is Shutting Down Freevee, Its Ad-Supported Video Streamer

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor RIP, Freevee. Amazon is officially shutting down Freevee, its free, ad-supported video streaming service originally launched under the IMDb brand nearly five years ago.

Freevee will be phased out over the course of the next several weeks. Going forward, content that had been on the service will be subsumed under Amazon’s Prime Video brand.

In a statement, an Amazon rep said, “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 [free, ad-supported streaming TV] channels and the complete Amazon Freevee content offering.” “To deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding,” the Amazon spokesperson said. “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.” News of Freevee’s shutdown was first reported by Bloomberg.

Freevee is the name of the ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) service that was originally launched in January 2019 under the name IMDb Freedive and then rebranded as IMDb TV in June of that year.