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Amazon is planning to sunset its free, ad-supported television app Freevee in the coming weeks, according to three people familiar with the strategy—part of a broader effort to focus its advertising and product efforts on Prime Video, which launched an ad-supported tier in January.
The exact date for the closure depends on a handful of ongoing factors, but it will likely shutter in Q2, potentially before the NewFronts begin in late April, according to two people familiar with the matter.
“If the question is whether or not Amazon will persist with two standalone streaming services,” said one person familiar with the situation, “I’m certain the answer is no.”
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
Freevee, which Amazon rebranded from IMDb TV in April 2022, has historically functioned as a free, ad-supported alternative to Prime Video, whose content largely requires an Amazon Prime subscription to access.
But when Amazon introduced advertising to Prime Video in January, the decision threw the fate of Freevee into question. With both services already sharing certain titles, Amazon is essentially hosting a similar slate of ad-supported programming on two separate apps.
This redundancy, combined with several other factors, has compelled Amazon to wind down Freevee, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The decision could let Prime Video market itself more clearly as a three-tiered service, with Freevee rebranded as its free, ad-supported version, an ad-supported subscription product and an ad-free premium tier with new perks still to come, according to two people familiar with the strategy.
Confusion among viewers and buyers
Much of the appeal of Freevee was that it let Amazon break into the ad-supported streaming business, according to three people familiar with the strategy.
The duplicate nature of Freevee and Prime Video has led to confusion among both viewers and ad buyers, according to two people familiar with the matter. Heading into NewFronts, Amazon would like to focus its efforts on selling one ad-supported service rather than two.
