Amazon has denied that its free, ad-supported streaming service Freevee will be shut down, despite reports to the contrary.
On Wednesday, Adweek reported that Amazon was planning to scrap the free service in the coming weeks, as part of a “broader effort to focus its advertising and product efforts on Prime Video”.
The report came after Amazon Prime Video automatically downgraded subscribers to an ad-supported tier in late January, forcing customers to spend an additional $2.99 per month to stay ad-free.
A “source familiar with the matter” told Adweek that the decision to inject ads into Amazon Prime Video signalled the end of Freevee. Another source added: “Freevee is not long for this world.”
However, in a statement provided to Deadline, Amazon denied that any changes to Freevee were imminent.
“There are no changes to Freevee,” said a spokesperson for the streamer. “Amazon Freevee remains an important streaming offering providing both Prime and non-Prime customers thousands of hit movies, shows, and originals, all for free.”
Freevee was rebranded from IMDb TV in 2022, and serves as the home for the breakout series Jury Duty, which we named one of the best TV shows of 2023.
Some of the Freevee’s series have already been moved to Prime Video for upcoming seasons, including Leverage: Redemption and American Rust.
The future fate of Jury Duty currently remains unknown. A second season has not yet been confirmed, but executive producer Nicholas Hatton has already expressed an interest in continuing the series.
Created by The Office‘s Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, the first season chronicled the inner workings of an American jury trial through the eyes of juror Ronald Gladden, who didn’t realise that everyone except him was an actor.
Throughout the course of the show, Ronald (who believed he was taking part in an educational documentary about the legal system) put up with the eccentric behaviour of his fellow jurors, including Sonic The Hedgehog star James Marsden, who played a comical version of himself.
Jury Duty was nominated for three Emmys at this year’s ceremony, including Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series, Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series, and Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series (Marsden).
The post Amazon says “no changes” are coming to Freevee, despite reports of shutdown appeared first on NME.
