The Fate of Freevee- No Change (For Now)

 The Fate of Freevee- No Change (For Now) 

With Amazon summarily shifting all Amazon Prime Video subscribers to an ad-supported subscription plan unless they specifically opted-in for the extra $3 per month to secure an ad-free experience, there have been some serious questions raised about the future viability of Freevee. Our Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, takes a look at Amazon’s new statement on the matter.  
 
 


Brandon Blake 

Amazon Denies Industry Chatter 

With the entirety of Prime Video now effectively offering an AVOD model, many in the industry have raised questions about the fate of Freevee. Some have even gone as far as to declare the service redundant.  

 

However, this week an Amazon spokesperson clarified that there will be no coming changes to Freevee, emphasizing its spot as a non-Prime subscriber service as well as its accessibility to Prime subscribers. The service, which first ran as Freedive and was then rebranded to IMDbTV for a short while, is still seen as something of a redundant offering in the wider market, however, both for viewers and ad buyers 

Premature Shutdown Predicted 

This statement came hot on the heels of midweek rumors that Freevee would be discontinued in the coming weeks, before the ad-focused NewFronts in early spring. Despite these assurances, however, some of their recent programming decisions do seem to be building towards a potential consolidation of services- such as the shift of American Rust: Broken Justice from a Freevee release to the Prime Video service. 

 

It’s abundantly clear that ad support is becoming a major pillar of the Amazon streaming strategy, especially with their heavy investment into sports rights and their controversial opt-out advertising model. Unfortunately, we have no firm subscriber data for Freevee, so it is difficult to dig into the value it provides to the wider Amazon ecosystem. For now, however, it seems Freevee continues. Whether that decision will last, however, is entirely a different matter.  

 

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