Fear not, Neighbours will be safe if the changes hit.
AdWeek, a well-respected magazine and website within the advertising industry is reporting that Amazon are set to end their Freevee brand later this year.
According to the report, the change has been prompted by the January change to Amazon Prime Video, when they introduced an ad-supported subscription tier to their line up. With many viewers already accessing Freevee content through the Amazon Prime Video app, it is seen as confusing for them to have two different ad-supported brands.
Although Amazon have refused to confirm the changes, AdWeek reports that insiders familiar with the matter have said that the duplication of ad-supported services, where Prime Video is no longer 100% ad-free along with several other factors have compelled Amazon to wind the Freevee service down.
Freevee originally launched as IMBd Freedive in 2019. It renamed to IMDbTV later that year and then was rebranded as Freevee in 2022 as the service began to offer more original programming. It was announced that Neighbours was being revived and added to their roster in November 2022, 4 months after the show had aired it’s finale episode on Channel 10 in Australia and Channel 5 in the UK.
It is believed that Prime Video will operate as a three-tired service, with Freevee rebranded as it’s free, ad-supported service along with an ad-supported subscription service and an ad-free premium tier.
Again, none of this has been confirmed by Amazon but AdWeek are reporting that the service is likely to be shuttered in the second quarter of this year, likely before NewFronts, where the streamer discusses their programming for the year ahead, which is scheduled for the end of April.
With Neighbours being the most-watched show on Freevee in the UK, it sits along side other well-respected original programming such as Judy Justice, Bosch: Legacy and the Emmy Award-nominated Jury Duty. These popular titles are expected to be “Front Porched” by Amazon to draw in new viewers to their platform, initially to enjoy the free programming and hopefully upgrade to the paid tiers.
We have reached out to Amazon for comment, but you can read the AdWeek article for yourself here. Any updates will be shared on RamsayStreetUK.