Want to watch free free TV and movies? You can with — wait for it — Freevee. Amazon is rebranding its free streamer IMDb TV (one of the best free streaming services) to Amazon Freevee, starting April 27. The move comes ahead of a planned 70 percent increase in original shows and movies.
Freevee might not be the most inventive name. Let's be frank: It's goofy as hell. But it makes sense and certainly tells you from the jump what you're getting: free TV. This makes it a marginal improvement on the clunky IMDb TV moniker.
The free ad-supported streaming service first launched in January 2019 as IMDb Freedive before rebranding to IMDb TV later that year. It was first available only in the U.S, but has since expanded to the U.K. and will add Germany by the end of 2022.
In recent years, Amazon says IMDb TV has seen tremendous growth, with monthly active users tripling. While the company hasn't released specific numbers, it reported 120 million monthly active users last May across all of its ad-supported video content, including IMDb TV, Twitch, live sports and other channels.
The free ad-supported streaming category has become quite competitive, with players like Pluto, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Crackle and Peacock in the mix. Subscription services are also getting into AVOD, with HBO Max already offering an lower-priced ad-supported tier and Disney Plus planning to do the same. You can even watch Coachella online for free, over on YouTube.
Like most free streaming services, IMDb TV started out by relying on licensed library content of classic shows and movies. But the recent growth in popularity came after the streamer began offering its own original movies and shows. Now, Amazon plans for Freevee to ramp up originals even more.
And check out the Freevee logo:
"We’re looking forward to building on this momentum with an increasing slate of inventive and broadly appealing originals, and are excited to establish Freevee as the premier AVOD service with content audiences crave," said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios.
Freevee director Ashraf Alkarmi added, "Our new name clearly communicates who we are: An easy-to-navigate streaming service, available to users for free, whenever and wherever they choose to watch some of the greatest original and licensed content available."
All the originals coming to Amazon Freevee
The service formerly called IMDb TV already makes several originals, including Judge Judy Sheindlin's new courtroom series Judy Justice. Another major title is Leverage: Redemption, a revival of the TNT crime drama. Other originals include the British spy thriller Alex Rider, the Canadian cop dramedy Pretty Hard Cases and the music docuseries Luke Bryan: My Dirt Road Diary.
Freevee will increase its slate of originals by 70 percent this year. The service recently ordered the rom-com Love Accidentally, starring Brenda Song and Aaron O’Connell. Some high-profile upcoming projects include:
- Bosch: Legacy, a spinoff of the Prime Video series
- Sprung, a comedy from Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl)
- Dick Wolf's half-hour procedural drama On Call
- Home design series Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis
- High School, a scripted adaptation by Clea DuVall of the memoir by musicians Sara and Tegan Quin
- Primo, a coming-of-age comedy from Michael Schur and Shea Serrano
More new Freevee originals will be announced on the company’s NewFronts presentation on May 2.
And of course, Freevee users have a plethora of library content to watch. Current titles include Mad Men, Lost, Fifty Shades of Grey, The Princess Bride, Project Runway, Midsomer Murders, Office Space and Desperate Housewives.
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