By: Barry Walsh 

Amazon is winding down ad-supported streaming service Freevee and folding its content into Prime Video’s library.

There are no reported layoffs associated with this strategic shift, as executives working in the Freevee division have joined other departments or are expected to do so in the future. 

Freevee launched in spring 2022 as a rebrand of Amazon’s unpaid streaming service IMDb TV. But its content has also been made available on Prime Video in recent months, and this will continue to be the case once Freevee shuts down.

In the past, Freevee has greenlit younger-skewing programming such as coming-of-age dramedy Beyond Black Beauty (pictured, from Amazon Studios, Sinking Ship Entertainment and Leif Films) and unscripted series Play-Doh Squished (Amazon and Entertainment One).

According to a statement from an Amazon spokesperson, the decision to “phase out Freevee branding” was made “to deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers.”

The company added that “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.”

At the time of Freevee’s launch, Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke touted Amazon’s commitment to “bringing our audiences premium, free-to-consumer content,” adding: “We’re looking forward to building on this momentum with an increasing slate of inventive and broadly appealing originals, and are excited to establish Amazon Freevee as the premier AVOD service that content audiences crave.”

However, months after the launch of Freevee, Prime Video rival Netflix launched its ad-supported tier. And Prime followed suit this past January.

That move set the rumor mill in motion, with Adweek reporting in February that Amazon was planning on “sunsetting” Freevee in the second quarter of 2024. At the time, Amazon denied this report, saying the service “remains an important streaming offering providing both Prime and non-Prime customers thousands of hit movies, shows and originals, all for free.”

A version of this story originally appeared in Kidscreen Daily‘s sister publication Realscreen Daily.