The rumors are true: IMDb TV is getting a makeover.
Amazon’s ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) streaming service will rebrand as Amazon Freevee, starting on April 27. The name change had been rumored for months, with execs previously hinting at an upcoming rebrand.
“Over the past two years, we have seen tremendous growth for our AVOD service and are committed to bringing our audiences premium, free-to-consumer content,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “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.”
So what’s in a name? For Freevee, it’s a lot.
“Customers are increasingly shifting to streaming ad-supported premium content, and we have developed Freevee to deliver them highly sought content with half the commercials of traditional TV,” Ashraf Alkarmi, director of Freevee, said in a statement. “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.”
And that content, which includes shows like Judge Judy Sheindlin’s courtroom series Judy Justice, will continue to grow. According to the streamer, Freevee will increase its original content by 70% this year, with new shows like Bosch: Legacy—a spinoff of sibling streamer Prime Video’s Bosch—Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis, the Greg Garcia comedy series Sprung, Australian crime drama Troppo and High School, a series based on The New York Times best-selling memoir by recording artists Tegan and Sara.
Freevee will also air original movies, beginning with a greenlight for the workplace rom-com Love Accidentally, starring Brenda Song and Aaron O’Connell.
