More than 100 Amazon Originals head to Amazon Freevee

By Phil Nickinson Published May 1, 2023

If you needed any more proof that branding is out of control, consider the following sentence: Amazon today announced that more than 100 Amazon Originals, which first appeared on Amazon Prime Video, will be made available for free on Amazon Freevee.

Amazon Freevee app on a TV. — Michael Bizzaco / Digital Trends

Or, in other words, you’ll be able to watch things like The Wheel of Time, Reacher, A League of Their Own, and LuLa Rich — to name but a few — for free, without a subscription to Amazon Prime.

Recommended Videos

And to confuse things just a little more, the Freevee Originals channel that’s been on Amazon Freevee is now known as Amazon Originals (still on Amazon Freevee).

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Not everything is making the leap, it appears. Though starting May 26, you’ll be able to watch the first three episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty free on Freevee — presumably as a way to entice non-Prime subscribers to sign up.

It’s all part of the continuing trend of video-on-demand services also getting into the FAST business, by which free ad-supported streaming television provides another source of revenue, in addition to the subscription side of the business. And in this case, Amazon is able to double-dip with the same content (Paramount also does that with Paramount+), in addition to having more than 250 other FAST channels available within Freevee, not unlike competitors Tubi (owned by Fox), Pluto (owned by Paramount), and The Roku Channel.

Amazon Freevee is a standalone app on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Android TV, on various smart TVs, on gaming consoles, and on mobile devices. It’s also available within the Amazon Prime Video app.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…

Audio / Video

What is Amazon Freevee? The free streaming service explained

Amazon Freevee app on a TV.

When you think about the best streaming services, your mind probably goes right tovideo-on-demand(VOD) services like Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV+. However all of these services require a monthly premium in order to access their ever-growing catalogs of movies and TV. However, Amazon has another option with Amazon Freevee, a free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) provider.

It was formerly known as IMDb TV, but Amazon switched over to the new name in 2022. Freevee features a large collection of movies and TV shows -- with both modern titles and classic options -- and provides an alternative to traditional VOD services that won't impact your budget. Unlike Amazon Prime Video, Freevee doesn't have a subscription model. Instead, its paid for with ads that air while you watch.

Audio / Video

The 10 most popular streaming services, ranked by subscriber count

The Netflix home screen.

When you're comparing the best streaming services, there are plenty of metrics to go by. Comparing them only by their number of subscribers isn't exactly a fair fight. After all not all streaming services are available worldwide. The number of subscribers doesn't exactly address the "worth" of a service, much less whether the app is easy to use. It doesn't even touch on whether the catalog of programming is good, or has what you want to watch on it, which is truly the best metric out there.

However, when we look at total subscriber counts, we can see how each service does from a global perspective. Considering we're looking at everything from streaming giants like Netflix and Hulu, to newer services like Apple TV Plus. For this post, we're not talking about free (FAST) streaming services or live TV streaming services, but the big VOD services.

Audio / Video

Sling TV channels, plans, pricing, extras, and more

Sling TV on a TV.

When it comes to live TV streaming services, Sling TV is one of the best, offering up the channels you want while not breaking the bank. While it isn't the most simple of streaming services, it is an option that is worth it for anyone looking to balance their budget, or if you don't need every channel out there. It's built on two tracks — Sling Orange and Sling Blue. You can get one of the tracks for a paltry sum, or both for a little bit more. (Which is what Sling really encourages you to do.) While there is some overlap between the two, neither of them has the full catalog that its competitors like YouTube TV can offer.

To augment their smaller catalog, it has its own slate of optional add-ons, which Sling TV calls Extras. Each one costs a few dollars more each month, which can quickly add up to the same price range of services like YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, and Fubo, it's all about your ability to choose to have those add-ons — or not.