It’s been rumoured for a while, but Amazon has made it official – their free ad-supported streaming service Freevee has closed its doors. Some content (including ‘Neighbours’) has already moved to Prime Video and will continue to be available for free without a Prime account.
The free ad-supported streaming service first launched in the USA back in 2019 as “IMDb TV”, before launching in September 2021 in the UK. In April 2022 it was rebranded with the name “Freevee”. Rumours of Freevee’s demise have been circulating since January this year when Amazon announced they would be putting ads into the main Prime Video service, rather making the need for a separately branded ad-supported streaming service unnecessary. Prime already hosts some free content for non-Prime members, plus a mix of TV & Film to buy and rent and FAST channels, along with Prime Originals and exclusive member content, so Freevee was just no longer needed.
A number of the original shows which were on Freevee have already been migrated over to Prime Video in the UK and are tagged as “Free with ads.” These include series such as ‘Neighbours’, ‘Jury Duty’, ‘Tribunal Justice’, ‘America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation’ and ‘Bosch: Legacy’.
“We have built 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,” commented an Amazon spokesperson. “To deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding. 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.”
So, this is really more of a branding change than the actual “closure” of a streaming service. If you watched stuff on Freevee previously, there is a good chance it is still available for free (with ads) on Prime Video, without the need for a paid Prime account.
If you want to check out what you can watch on Prime Video UK, either as part of your Prime Subscription or with just a free Amazon account, you can find more here.
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