Amazon Says 'No Changes' Coming To Freevee Despite Reports of the Streamer Shuttering

Amazon is pushing back against reports that its Freevee service is shuttering. The Wrap: AdWeek reported the news, which it said is part of an effort by the tech giant to shift its focus to Prime Video. Sources familiar with the matter told the outlet that sunsetting Freevee could happen sometime within the second quarter. However, a spokesperson for Amazon said there are "no changes" coming to Freevee.

"Amazon Freevee remains an important streaming offering providing both Prime and non-Prime customers thousands of hit movies, shows and originals, all for free," they added. Freevee, which was formerly known as IMDb TV until a rebrand in 2022, offers thousands of premium movies and TV shows, including originals such as "Bosch: Legacy," "Judy Justice" and "Jury Duty" and over 150 free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels.

And nobody cares

[TwistedGreen]

Freevee, never heard of it.

But I'm glad I don't have to shutter another sunsetting. Do these VPs just make up these words to impress each other?

Re:And nobody cares

[rogoshen1]

It is (was?) one of those services that had ad-supported (read as: unwatchable) garbage interspersed with prime video results in a manner seemingly designed to trick you into thinking a result was something you'd want to watch*.
But now that amazon went full retard with ads even on prime content, it's all unwatchable garbage.

Content providers have collectively screwed the pooch on what made streaming preferable to cable in the first place. Absolutely obtuse.

*granted i might be a bit precious when it comes to ads, but there is literally nothing worth sitting through ads over. even if it's just a short 30 second promo at the start, hard pass -- on principle alone.

Re:

[jrb1537]

Freevee, never heard of it.

But I'm glad I don't have to shutter another sunsetting. Do these VPs just make up these words to impress each other?

Freevee was originally IMDb Freedive and then IMDbTV.

The evolution of Freevee

[tepples]

Freevee was originally IMDb Freedive and then IMDbTV.

But what'll Freevee evolve to next? Frvaporeon, Frflareon, Frleafeon, Frjolteon, Frglaceon, Frespeon, Frumbreon, Frsylveon, or something else?

You want stutter free?

[ArchieBunker]

That’s an extra $2.99 per month.

Re:

[Opportunist]

For now.

Is there anyone left who actually tolerates ads?

[PJ6]

In the days of broadcast TV you'd get up and go get something to eat.

Nowadays, who in their right mind would sit there at a PC and willingly watch three minutes of ads?

And how deluded do you have to be to purchase those ads? It doesn't make sense on either end.

Re:

[crow]

I expect the majority of streaming viewers are using smart TVs and are transitioning to streaming from cable. They're used to ads on most non-premium channels. Many are used to DVRs and may or may not fast forward over commercials, but in general, the idea of commercials in the middle of TV is something most people are used to.

And for kids' TV, I fear parents are likely to go for cheaper options since the parents aren't watching the ads. Though in practice, it's probably more important to keep your kids

Re:

[Petersko]

I don't understand the objection. Either shoulder the cost of the content, or offload it to somebody else.

Re:

[PJ6]

I don't understand what part of that you're interpreting as an objection.

Long ads on PC just doesn't work. It's a simple statement of fact.

Freevee with Amazon Prime barely works

[Proudrooster]

When Amazon bolted on Freevee, you have a 20% of the first ad not freezing and your content loading.

Complaints to Amazon have been going on since 2023 and no one at Amazon responds or cares.

Amazon Prime + Freevee should be called AmazonFreezy.

Re:

[c120plus]

If that would be true, then after a few tries I would not complain, but just delete the Freevee App from my AppleTV or Firestick or whatever.
There's enough free stuff to watch and Pluto seems to work OK.