IMDb TV rebrands as Amazon Freevee, plans German launch & originals push

Leverage: Redemption

Amazon’s AVOD service IMDb TV is rebranding as Amazon Freevee, with plans to grow its slate of originals by 70% and roll out in Germany later this year.

The service, which is currently available in the US and the UK, will officially change its name on 27 April, more than two years after its 2019 US launch as IMDb Freedive. The service arrived in the UK in September last year and seeks to continue its global expansion with a German launch by the end of 2022.

The retitled Amazon Freevee also aims to grow its originals slate by 70% in 2022, with shows including the previously announced Bosch: Legacy, which premieres on 6 May; home-design series, Hollywood Houselift With Jeff Lewis; Greg Garcia’s comedy series Sprung; and High School, a scripted series adapted for television by Clea DuVall, produced by Plan B.

Last month, the service ordered a pilot for a new scripted comedy set in the American West, from filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

The AVOD also plans to add exclusive original movies to its slate, starting with a greenlight order for the workplace rom-com Love Accidentally, starring Brenda Song and Aaron O’Connell.

Originals currently available on the service include the heist drama Leverage: Redemption; sports docuseries Uninterrupted’s Top Class: The Life and Times of the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers; the spy thriller Alex Rider; the music docuseries Luke Bryan: My Dirt Road Diary; and the true-crime docuseries Bug Out.

“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,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. “We’re looking forward to building on this momentum with an increasing slate of inventive and broadly appealing originals and are excited to establish Amazon Freevee as the premier AVOD service with content audiences crave.”