Content switches to Prime Video: Amazon stamps out Freevee

Amazon is burying its free streaming service Freevee. The tech giant confirmed this to US media. All content previously available on Freevee is to be moved to Prime Video in the coming weeks.

Bloomberg first reported on the upcoming move, but Amazon finally confirmed the report in a statement to several US media outlets. "In order to offer our customers a simpler streaming experience, we will be phasing out the 'Freevee' branding," Amazon wrote to industry magazine Deadline, for example.

Lost raison d'être

According to the statement, previous Freevee content will also be available for free on Prime Video – most likely with advertising. Freevee was intended as an ad-financed alternative to Prime Video. However, when Amazon introduced advertising for Prime Video, the tech company removed a large part of Freevee's raison d'être.

Freevee content such as "Jury Duty" or "Bosch Legacy" could already be accessed in Amazon's Prime Video app, but was branded as Freevee and could only be viewed by Prime subscribers with ad breaks.

There are not yet any further details on how this will work in practice. Amazon does not explicitly state whether Freevee series will be available without advertising for subscribers to the ad-free Prime Video tier in future. The changeover is to take place in all markets in which Freevee is available. In addition to the USA, this also includes Germany and Austria. Freevee has been available in Germany since 2022.

There were already reports of a possible end to Freevee in February. However, Amazon objected at the time: "Amazon Freevee remains an important streaming service that offers both Prime and non-Prime customers thousands of hit movies, shows and originals for free," a spokesperson commented on reports at the time.

(dahe)