Emmy-Nominated Streaming Service Reportedly Shuttering for Good

It's been just five years since Amazon launched Freevee, but a new report indicates that the Emmy-nominated streaming service will be shuttering for good. According to AdWeek, Amazon is planning to close down the free, ad-supported streamer "in weeks," possibly as soon as April. This news comes weeks after Amazon Prime Video launched a new ad-supported tier, which would be direct competition for Freevee.

"If the question is whether or not Amazon will persist with two stand-alone streaming services, I'm certain the answer is no," one source told the outlet. Amazon Freevee has been the home of a number of movies and TV shows, including originals such as Leverage: Redemption, Bosch: Legacy, Judy Justice, and the Emmy-nominated mockumentary-reality series Jury Duty. There is currently no word on what may happen with the Freevee exclusive shows.

As noted, the report comes after Prime Video began introducing commercials in January. "This change will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time," the streaming service explained in a statement to subscribers. They added, "We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers."