UPDATE: Amazon has denied the report

Amazon Prime Video‘s recent foray into streaming ads has already sparked a class-action lawsuit, and now, it may have its first fatality. According to a new report, Amazon is pulling the plug on Freevee, the streamer’s free ad-based tier that’s now redundant thanks to Prime Video running ads as of January 29.

The Freevee service has been home to Bosch: Legacy, Jury Duty, and American Rust, all of which will be ported over to Prime Video and used as “front porch” titles to entice new subscribers.

Via AdWeek:

The duplicate nature of Freevee and Prime Video has led to confusion among both viewers and ad buyers, according to two people familiar with the matter. Heading into NewFronts, Amazon would like to focus its efforts on selling one ad-supported service rather than two.

Likewise, the marketing budget dedicated to promoting Freevee has come under scrutiny amid a larger effort from Amazon to reduce expenses. The company conducted layoffs in January across Prime Video and streaming service Twitch.

From the look of things, Freevee’s fate was sealed when the decision was made to put streaming ads on Prime Video. However, we can’t help but notice that prolific author Stephen King voiced his discontent with the service. That can’t be a coincidence.

FreeVee is such an awful idea. Tried to watch TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE on that platform, but the commercials kind of ruin the mood.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 15, 2024

King’s hunger for killing streaming services will surely only grow from here. May God have mercy on us all.

(Via AdWeek)