Amazon is denying a report in Adweek that it plans to close down Freevee, its ad-supported free tv utility, within the coming months.
The report by media reporter Mark Stenberg, citing two unnamed individuals, claimed the corporate plans to sundown the service within the close to future to focus its promoting efforts on Prime Video, which added commercials to its base membership stage in January. Adweek mentioned that was prone to occur earlier than late April, when Amazon will give advertisers a have a look at upcoming programming Within the NewFronts occasion.
Amazon, nevertheless, mentioned the story is inaccurate—within the current tense, no less than.
“There are not any adjustments to Freevee,” an Amazon spokesperson instructed Fortune. “Amazon Freevee stays an vital streaming providing offering each Prime and non-Prime prospects hundreds of hit films, exhibits, and Originals, all free of charge.”
Freevee was previously often known as IMDb TV, however Amazon bought the service and renamed in April 2022. It’s considered one of a number of free ad-supported streaming tv (dubbed FAST by business insiders) and opponents embody Sling TV’s Freestream, Fox’s Tubi and Pluto TV. FAST channels have change into more and more in style with people who find themselves fed up with escalating cable TV and streaming service charges.
Pluto TV, for example, goals to have 120 million customers by the top of this 12 months.
Freevee has not solely benefitted from Amazon’s unique programming for the service, it additionally has licensing agreements with Disney Media and Leisure—and a earlier cope with NBCU gave it the unique community window for movies from the 2020-21 slate of Common.
Freevee noticed it employees decreased earlier this 12 months, when Amazon laid off a whole bunch of staff in its Prime Video and MGM Studios divisions.
