At a time when streaming has taken over, and FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) services are becoming more popular, it’s surprising news that Amazon has decided to shut down its Freevee free streaming platform. This is non-news for Canadians since Freevee has never been available north of the border. But it’s pretty big news for U.S. streamers.
Amazon, of course, runs its Prime Video streaming service. It comes included with an Amazon Prime subscription, which primarily includes perks like fast and free delivery for Amazon shopping, early access to Amazon Prime Day deals (and Prime Day deals in general), cloud storage, Amazon Music, and more. In the U.S., there is also an option to sign up for Amazon Prime Video on its own – we don’t have that option in Canada.
Freevee, formerly IMDb TV (Amazon also owns IMDb), is Amazon’s free ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) service. You don’t need an Amazon account to access it nor an Amazon Prime subscription. Just search, find a movie or TV show, and start watching. If you log in with an Amazon account (Prime not needed), you do get added functionality like the option to re-start playback when you log in another time.
Freevee is known for introducing popular shows like Jury Duty, Judy Justice, and Bosch: Legacy. It’s also where older or less popular Amazon Prime Video titles go after their first run, introducing a new audience to them. You’ll find shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty and Mozart in the Jungle, originally Prime Video exclusives, available to stream there now as well as higher profile shows like Reacher, The Grand Tour, and The Wheel of Time.
So, the decision to shut down Freevee came as a surprise. According to Variety, a rep told the outlet in not so many words that Amazon Freevee content would effectively be folded into Amazon Prime. So, along with being able to access originals, licensed content, content from other services via add-on subscriptions, live sports, movies, rental and buy options, and more, Amazon users will now also be able to access FAST streaming TV through the same portal, with or without an Amazon Prime subscription.
Amazon announced in late 2023 that it would be including ads with its Prime Video content, and that addition came into effect in February 2024. This essentially makes Amazon Prime Video like a FAST service that isn’t free. You pay via your Amazon Prime subscription, but have to pay more if you want to remove ads. Those who wish to do so have to pay an extra $2.99/mo. for the “ad-free” tier of Amazon Prime Video. That further blurs the lines.
Nonetheless, the spokesperson told Variety that “to deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding. 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.”
Basically, then, it sounds like Freevee is simply being folded into the Amazon Prime Video interface without the extra branding, the same offerings under one umbrella. These titles will still be accessible to those who don’t log in nor have a Prime Video account. They will be tagged as “Watch for Free” (versus Freevee) just like other titles are tagged as “included with Prime,” “available with Paramount+,” “or available to rent.”
The decision to shut down Freevee does make sense now that Prime Video has ads anyway. The decision to include ads with Prime Video in the first place, however, and upcharge customers to eliminate that, is counter-intuitive to the whole concept of streaming. That’s another issue altogether, of course.
It will be interesting to see now once everything integrated how Freevee titles in the U.S. will be handled in Canada. Currently, Freevee originals like Bosch: Legacy and Jury Duty are available in Canada only with a Prime subscription. When Jury Duty was released, Canadians had to wait long after its original Freevee debut before it finally landed on Amazon Prime Video Canada.
For now, you can rest assured that whether it’s called Freevee or Free on Amazon Prime Video, you’ll still be able to watch content for free with ads. How formerly Freevee content and Prime Video content with ads will be distinct from one another beyond some titles requiring a Prime Video subscription and some not remains to be seen.
For free TV streaming options you can get in Canada, check out Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, CBC Gem, and Plex.