Amazon Freevee is closing, and it’s all thanks to Prime Video’s increasingly popular ad-supported tier
- Amazon Freevee will be phased out in the coming weeks
- Freevee content is available on Prime Video instead
- The successful rollout of Prime Video ads is accelerating
Amazon Freevee is officially closing as the company looks to simplify its streaming offering by turning Prime Video into a one-stop shop, according to reports Term.
The free streaming service will be phased out in the US, UK, Germany and Austria in the coming weeks, but you can still find Amazon Freevee content on Prime Video, including flagship series like Jury Duty, Bosch: Legacy And Judy Justice. These titles can be identified by the ‘Watch Free’ label in the Prime Video app.
Amazon had already started shifting Freevee Originals to Prime Video long before it introduced ads earlier this year, and gave us more signs of the coming shift when it announced that the third and final season of Bosch: legacy would be shared via Freevee and Prime Video in September.
Opinion: It was inevitable that Amazon would discontinue its free streaming service
Despite being one of the best free streaming services, there has been talk of closure of Amazon Freevee since launching an ad-supported tier on Prime Video in late January earlier this year, which many believed was unnecessary at the time. .
Amazon denied rumors that Freevee was closing at the time, but many of us were left unconvinced, especially as the introduction of an ad-supported plan meant there was no real difference between Prime Video and the free streaming offering. After all, the overlap between content meant you didn’t have to leave Prime Video to find Freevee titles.
The rollout of the ad tier was considered controversial, as many subscribers were frustrated by the fact that Prime Video inserted ads unless you paid more – essentially forcing you to spend an extra $2.99 in the US and £2.99 in the UK if you paid more. you wanted to go ad-free.
But it turns out that the new level of advertising hasn’t hurt subscriber numbers as much as people initially thought. Because people weren’t complaining enough, Prime Video is expected to be filled with even more ads by 2025, with plans to introduce three new types of ads to the service, including carousel ads, pause ads, and trivia ads – and your Fire TV won’t be spared to stay.
Amazon has since redoubled its advertising efforts, following the successful launch of its new scheme: the British ratings body Found Barb that 86% of homes are now opted into the ad tier – and we can only expect to see more growth as Amazon Freevee users migrate to Prime Video.
Amazon Freevee was voted the best free streaming service by readers at the 2024 TechRadar Choice Awards, so we’re likely to see an increase in activity in the coming months. As the new home for Amazon Freevee content, including select Amazon MGM Studios Originals, licensed movies and series in addition to more than 450 FAST channels in the US, Prime Video has even more reasons why it is the best streaming service for movies.
