Bye-bye, IMDb TV. The Amazon-backed free ad-supported streaming service will now be referred to as, drum roll please, Freevee. Sure, Freevee.
The rebrand will start on April 27 and whereas we’re undecided how that is any totally different from its 2019 title “Freedive,” the brand new title does admittingly distinguish itself from the IMDb web site. Plus, all these syllables will be tiring to say typically.
Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios stated, “Over the previous two years, we have now seen large development for our AVOD [advertising supported video-on-demand] service and are dedicated to bringing our audiences premium, free-to-consumer content material.” Whereas Amazon hasn’t launched an energetic consumer metric for Freevee, the corporate reported in Could that it has 120 million monthly active users throughout all of its ad-supported video content material, which included former IMDb TV, Twitch, stay sports activities, amongst different channels.
Freevee has plans to develop its slate by 70% this yr, with scripted originals in growth such because the longest-running Authentic collection for Prime Video, “Bosch: Legacy,” Greg Garcia comedy “Sprung,” home-design collection, “Hollywood Houselift” with Jeff Lewis, the Australian crime drama “Troppo,” and the scripted collection “Excessive College,” in addition to different unscripted and films that can be revealed Could 2 at its NewFronts presentation.
“We’re wanting ahead to constructing on this momentum with an growing slate of creative and broadly interesting Originals, and are excited to determine Freevee because the premier AVOD service with content material audiences crave,” Salke added.
The service has already begun increasing into unique motion pictures with the greenlight order of “Love By chance,” starring Brenda Music and Aaron O’Connell. The office rom-com options Alexa (Music) and Jason (O’Connell) competing for a promotion at their promoting agency when every of their companions dumps them. Alexa mistakenly sends Jason a brokenhearted message they usually develop an nameless relationship by way of textual content with neither conscious of who the opposite is. The “Love By chance” forged additionally contains Denise Richards and Maxwell Caulfield.
At the moment obtainable on the free streaming service, different Originals embrace “Fairly Arduous Instances,” with a second season approaching April 22; “Leverage: Redemption,” “Alex Rider,” “Luke Bryan: My Grime Street Diary,” “Bug Out,” and extra. Moreover, Freevee has “Judy Justice” in its library, which has been picked up for a second season.
Beforehand, Amazon’s free streaming service introduced greenlight orders for “Primo,” the coming-of-age comedy from Michael Schur and Shea Serrano, and “On Name,” the half-hour procedural drama from prolific TV producer Dick Wolf.
Moreover, the service introduced an AVOD first by licensing a take care of NBCU securing an unique community window for movies from Common Filmed Leisure Group’s 2020-21 theatrical slate, together with titles equivalent to “Dolittle,” “The Invisible Man,” “Promising Younger Girl,” “Quick & Livid 9”, in addition to rights to a package deal of animated motion pictures, together with “Sing 2.”
“Clients are more and more shifting to streaming ad-supported premium content material, and we have now developed Freevee to ship them extremely sought content material with half the commercials of conventional TV. Our new title clearly communicates who we’re: A simple-to-navigate streaming service, obtainable to customers without cost, at any time when and wherever they select to look at among the biggest Authentic and licensed content material obtainable,” stated Ashraf Alkarmi, director of Freevee.
Many shoppers aren’t that bothered by commercials, and if the streaming service is free, you’ll be able to guess there can be viewers flocking to it. Whip Media’s TV Time data reveals that nearly 50% of free streaming customers seen a platform a couple of instances every week and 20% at all times select a free ad-supported TV choice over different streaming providers.
Over time, IMDb TV/Freevee has outpaced its AVOD rivals, the Roku Channel, Tubi, and Pluto TV. In 2021, IMDb TV viewership had grown 138% over the earlier yr, based on Amazon. The corporate has additionally boasted that those that watch the service spend a mean of 5.5 hours per week.
