Amazon said Monday that Freevee, the ad-supported streaming service formerly known as IMDb TV, now has a dedicated Apple TV app. Freevee was previously only available through the Prime Video app on Apple TV, but it now has its own app that you can download from the App Store for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD.
Amazon Studios series like Bosch: Legacy and Pretty Hard Cases, as well as other free movies and TV shows like Mad Men and Knives Out, are available through Freevee. Freevee recently inked a new contract with Disney, and it now has over 75 channels streaming, including an exclusive channel that only plays Kim’s Convenience.
It also has over 75 channels streaming, including an exclusive channel that only plays Kim’s Convenience. You won’t be able to choose which episode to watch, but it’s hard to complain when it’s free. In addition to Apple TV, the app is available on iOS, Android, Roku, select LG and Samsung smart TVs, Xbox, PlayStation, and other platforms.
Even as it spends heavily on Prime Video content like NFL games and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon has plenty of reasons to invest in its free streaming service. Amazon announced earlier this month during its NewFronts presentation for advertisers that it is beta testing Virtual Product Placement in original shows on both networks.
Instead of putting the product on the set somewhere, like in traditional product placement, which keeps Samsung gadgets out of the hands of bad characters, the product is simply placed in post-production. The blog post does not specify whether they will be replaced with something else in the future, such as a conveniently located bag of M&M’s for anyone willing to pay for a placement two years from now.
However, Freevee isn’t the only ad-supported streaming service available. YouTube has added hundreds of TV episodes to its free, ad-supported offerings, while Roku has been significantly investing in the Roku Channel. Companies are increasingly using advertisements to fund their subscription streaming services. HBO and Hulu already have ad-supported paid tiers, and Disney Plus and Netflix are planning ad-supported tiers as well.