Earlier today, AdWeek dropped a bombshell report that claimed Amazon was in the process of shutting down Freevee, it’s free ad-based streaming tier that includes hits like Bosch: Legacy and Jury Duty.
Citing “three people familiar with the strategy,” AdWeek reported that Amazon will “sunset” Freevee “in the coming weeks” as the streamer throws all of its resources behind Prime Video, which recently implemented streaming ads on January 29. A recent round of layoffs at Freevee also hinted at trouble for the streaming tier, but in a new statement, Amazon has denied that it’s planning on shuttering the service.
“There are no changes to Freevee,” a company spokesperson told Deadline. “Amazon Freevee remains an important streaming offering providing both Prime and non-Prime customers thousands of hit movies, shows, and originals, all for free.”
However, AdWeek‘s report did note that there was a chance that Amazon could still keep Freevee despite the service now being redundant and internal metrics reportedly showing that it fails to convert users into Prime Video subscribers:
The decision could let Prime Video market itself more clearly as a three-tiered service, with Freevee rebranded as its free, ad-supported version, an ad-supported subscription product and an ad-free premium tier with new perks still to come, according to two people familiar with the strategy.
AdWeek also reported that Amazon could also delay shuttering Freevee if there’s a customer revolt that makes Prime Video “unable to meet the inventory quotas it has promised advertisers.”
As for what’s really happening behind-the-scenes is anyone’s guess, but for now, the official word is that Freevee is here to stay.
(Via Deadline)