There have been rumors for years that Amazon is planning a free version of its Prime Video streaming service, funded by advertisements. Today, the company did announce an ad-supported streaming platform, but it's not what you were expecting — it's 'IMDb Freedive.'Freedive is a new streaming service available from IMDb's website and Amazon Fire TV devices, featuring "hit movies and TV shows." Although not mentioned in the press release, Freedive's entire catalog is also available from the Prime Video site and the Prime Video apps. IMDb plans to eventually bring the service to its own iOS and Android apps.
You can watch Freedive's entire catalog from Prime Video.
Some of the available movies and series include Fringe, Heroes, The Bachelor, Without a Trace, Kitchen Nightmares, Duck Dynasty, Muppets in Space, and Arthur & Merlin. A handful of original shows are also present, such as The IMDb Show, IMDbrief, Casting Calls, and No Small Parts.
Much like YouTube's selection of free movies, you won't find new blockbusters on IMDb's service, but there are still some good movies and TV shows. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch Quantum Leap.
PRESS RELEASE
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IMDb (www.imdb.com), the #1 movie website in the world, today announced the launch of IMDb Freedive (www.imdb.com/freedive), a free streaming video channel available in the United States on the IMDb website via laptop or personal computer and on all Amazon Fire TV devices. IMDb Freedive, an ad-supported channel, enables customers to watch hit TV shows including Fringe, Heroes, The Bachelor and Without a Trace as well as top Hollywood hits like Awakenings, Foxcatcher, Memento, Monster, Run Lola Run, The Illusionist, The Last Samurai, True Romance and more without purchasing a subscription.
IMDb is expanding its video offering beyond short-form original series, trailers and celebrity interviews. IMDb Freedive offers popular, full-length movies and hit TV shows – for free, with ads. Customers can dive even deeper into the titles they are watching on IMDb Freedive by using X-Ray, which is powered by the authoritative information on IMDb about cast, crew, trivia, soundtracks and more. Popular IMDb original video series, including The IMDb Show, Casting Calls and No Small Parts, are available to stream on IMDb Freedive now.
“Customers already rely on IMDb to discover movies and TV shows and decide what to watch,” said Col Needham, Founder and CEO of IMDb. “With the launch of IMDb Freedive, they can now also watch full-length movies and TV shows on IMDb and all Amazon Fire TV devices for free. We will continue to enhance IMDb Freedive based on customer feedback and will soon make it available more widely, including on IMDb’s leading mobile apps.”
IMDb Freedive is available beginning today at www.imdb.com/freedive, on IMDb’s website via laptop or personal computer and on Fire TV devices. Fire TV customers will see the new IMDb Freedive icon in the “Your Apps & Channels” row, making it easy to find free movies and TV shows. On Fire TV, simply say “Alexa, go to Freedive,” to immediately access, browse and enjoy free movies and TV shows.
The IMDb Freedive catalog will continue to evolve, with new titles added regularly. Experience and learn more about IMDb Freedive today by visiting www.imdb.com/freedive.
IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. The IMDb consumer site (www.imdb.com) is the #1 movie website in the world with a combined web and mobile audience of more than 250 million unique monthly visitors. IMDb offers a searchable database of more than 250 million data items including more than 5 million movies, TV and entertainment programs and more than 8 million cast and crew members. Consumers rely on the information IMDb provides – including local movie showtimes, ticketing, trailers, critic and user reviews, personalized recommendations, photo galleries, entertainment news, quotes, trivia, box-office data, editorial feature sections and a universal Watchlist – when deciding what to watch and where to watch it. IMDb's portfolio of leading entertainment apps (http://www.imdb.com/apps/) includes its popular "Movies & TV" app for iPhone, iPad, Fire tablets, Android phones, Android tablets and its mobile-optimized website. To date, there have been more than 150 million downloads of IMDb's mobile apps worldwide. IMDb X-Ray for Movies & TV Shows is a feature that revolutionizes the viewing experience by bringing the power of IMDb directly to Fire HD, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. The IMDb Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/imdb) and official Twitter account (https://twitter.com/imdb) are followed by more than 12 million passionate entertainment fans. IMDbPro (http://www.imdbpro.com) is the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals. This membership-based service includes comprehensive information and tools that are designed to help entertainment industry professionals achieve success throughout all stages of their career. IMDbPro offers members the following: detailed contact and representation information; tools to manage and showcase their IMDb profile, including the ability to select their primary images and the credits they are best "known for"; exclusive STARmeter rankings that are determined by page views on IMDb; the IMDbPro app for iPhone and Android; IMDbPro Track, which empowers members using the app to receive personalized entertainment industry news and notifications on the people and film and TV projects they want to follow; and a convenient tool that generates custom digital assets to promote their work on social media and other platforms. Additionally, IMDb owns and operates Box Office Mojo (http://www.boxofficemojo.com), the leading online box-office reporting service. IMDb.com is operated by IMDb.com, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) (http://www.amazon.com). To learn more, go to: http://www.imdb.com/press.
