Despite initially promising that Freevee is here to stay, Amazon is now reportedly preparing to shut down its first and only FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) service which will no longer be available come several weeks. This is because the company's main streaming service, Prime Video, is ramping up on its ad-supported tier and recently saw significant growth among its users.
That being said, the essence of free streaming television will not entirely be dead as Amazon plans to bring this experience over to Prime Video, and this will allow non-Prime subscribers to access selected content.
Amazon Freevee to Shut Down in Favor of Prime Video
A new report from Deadline shared that Amazon is now preparing for the shutdown of its FAST service, Freevee, from its four countries of operations including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria. This follows the rumors earlier this year which claimed that Freevee will cease to exist as Amazon puts its focus on the ad-supported version of its main IP, Prime Video.
It was previously revealed that Amazon claimed that despite Prime Video with ads existing as the basic subscription for all users, Freevee is set to stay, but that narrative is reportedly changing now.
There is still no official word from Amazon regarding Freevee's shutdown, but the company's plan is already set this way to let Prime Video take center stage on all things streaming from the e-commerce company.
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Prime Video with Ads to Feature a Free Watchlist
Despite Freevee's shutdown, its spirit will live on over at Prime Video, as the main Amazon streaming platform will soon offer a "Watch for Free" section that will allow non-Prime subscribers to watch from the platform.
However, its experience will change as Freevee was meant to feature free content for all, while Prime Video is for paying subscribers. This means that Freevee's iconic interface will also be gone, and Prime Video will be notorious for its ads since this was made available.
Amazon's Freevee and Prime Video
Amazon's Freevee service has been around since well before the pandemic, but it is known as the IMDb Freedive that later rebranded to IMDb TV, with its final form only made available years later. Two years ago, Amazon launched the Freevee platform which focused on a FAST service that while offering free-to-stream content, features a permanent small window dedicated to ad placements.
However, Amazon also looked to earn more in its Prime Video streaming business as while it was one of the most popular platforms in the world, the company wants more out of the subscriptions. That being said, Amazon introduced Prime Video with ads which is its current basic tier where all users were moved, and opting for the fully ad-free experience will cost an extra $2.99.
Earlier this year, Amazon was rumored to have been planning its Freevee to give way for Prime Video with ads as the basic tier of all its streaming capabilities, with the FAST service to be removed from the equation. That is slowly unraveling now as Freevee only has a few weeks to offer its live service to users before it gets shut down, and it is still because of Prime Video with ads being prioritized.
