Is Amazon shutting down Freevee after the introduction of the ad-supported Prime tier? Details explored

In a massive speculation, Amazon is reportedly on its way to shut down the Freevee free video streaming service. Following Amazon's announcement last month that Prime Video would now display commercials by default, there has been a lot of conjecture that the tech giant would no longer strategically require Freevee.

Freevee from Amazon is a free streaming service with ads that runs independently of Prime Video. As per a story published by Adweek on February 21, 2024, Amazon would "sunset" Freevee. The story which cited unidentified sources stated that this would probably happen in the second quarter. However, Amazon has refuted the report by Adweek.

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Rumors about Freevee shutting down have been nullified by Amazon

A poster of Prime Video (image via Amazon)

Starting January 29, 2024, Amazon decided to include limited advertisements in its premium streaming service Prime Video. This spurred a lot of speculation about its free streaming service Freevee which is enjoyed by a major number of users in the US, and the UK.

The free video service was available for users who just needed to create a free-to-use Amazon account. Users could stream over 3000 films and 450 television series which also included the original Freevee series. Unlike Prime Video, Freevee included advertisements in between the streams. However, when Prime Video announced advertisements, it threatened the use of Freevee as this was the major separating factor between the streaming platforms.

As quoted by The Verge, the following statement was made by Amazon when they decided to include advertisements in Prime Video:

"This change will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time. We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers."a

However, to deny the major speculation regarding the discontinuation of Freevee, Amazon categorically stated that the report by Adweek was not accurate. In an email to Variety, the company stated the following:

"There are no changes to Freevee. Amazon Freevee remains an important streaming offering providing both Prime and non-Prime customers thousands of hit movies, shows, and originals, all for free."

The confirmation of the continuation of Freevee will come as a major relief to a large number of users who enjoy the free streaming service. With most major streaming services including considerable subscription fees, Freevee was one of the few streaming services offering premium content free of cost (albeit with advertisements).

Freevee is compatible with both third-party and Amazon devices, including the Roku Streambar, LG and Samsung smart TVs, and some PS5 and Xbox X Series consoles. A user just needs to create an account and log in to use the streaming service.