Amazon is moving forward with a plan to consolidate its free, ad-supported streaming TV platform Freevee into its flagship service Prime Video, according to a report published on Tuesday.
The report, from financial news outlet Bloomberg, cited unnamed sources and affirmed a handful of people that were tasked with developing Freevee will move over to Prime Video as part of the change.
A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the report, saying the company has worked to build 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 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 spokesperson affirmed. “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.”
The timing of Freevee’s shutdown wasn’t clear from Bloomberg’s story. It largely confirmed a report from Adweek earlier this year that claimed Amazon was looking at ways to wind down Freevee as a platform. Amazon responded to the report by affirming “no changes” were coming to Freevee, though they didn’t characterize the Adweek story as untrue.
Due to certain distribution contracts, a handful of shows that were exclusive to Freevee are still required to be offered without charge through Amazon’s platforms. Freevee content is already available in Prime Video, but Prime Video does not currently have a free tier. The statement from Amazon’s spokepserson suggests the company will soon allow non-Prime members and those not otherwise paying for Prime Video to access the app and stream free content from Freevee’s content library in order to fulfill those contractual obligations.
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Editor’s note: This story was updated Thursday afternoon to include a comment from an Amazon spokesperson.
