MGM and Warner Bros. Discovery channels are coming to Amazon Freevee, adding to the free ad-supported streamer’s growing slate of programming.
The studio will launch 12 FAST channels focused on individual titles including “The Pink Panther,” “Stargate,” “Green Acres,” and “The Outer Limits,” alongside branded channels such as “MGM Presents,” “MGM Presents: Action,” and “MGM Presents: Sci-Fi,” which will be programmed with premium movies and series including “Capote” and “Red Dawn.” The MGM FAST channels join “Paternity Court,” “In the Heat of the Night,”“The Addams Family” and“Teen Wolf,” which are already live on Freevee.
Meanwhile, Warner will launch 11 FAST channels in June featuring Discovery and WBD studio content such as “Cake Boss,”“Extreme Couponing,” “Ghost Brothers,”“Paranormal Lockdown,” “Say Yes to the Dress,”and “Long Lost Family.”
Freevee has rapidly expanded its FAST offerings over the last year to include a growing selection of over 280 FAST channels, including exclusive thematically programmed channels, such as popular movies and TV shows, comedy hits, as well as exclusive Original channels from Freevee and Prime Video (“Amazon Originals,” “Judy Justice,” “Bosch”), and syndicated channels with partners, including news (“The Washington Post,”“LiveNOW by FOX,” “ABC News Live”), sports (“NHL FAST,” “MLB,” “PGA Tour”), and music (“Vevo,” “XITE”).
The company also secured 10 channels from Lionsgate. Channels available on Freevee now include “Nashville,” “Are We There Yet?,” “Anger Management” and“HerSphere,” with “Ghost Hunters” launching in the coming weeks. Additional FAST channels coming to the channel this month include “Amazon Movies,” “Judge & Jury,” “QVC,” “HSN,” “Tastemade en Espanol,” “The Big Dish,” “USA Today” and “USA Today Sports.”
“FAST Channels offer Freevee viewers an always-on, 24/7, lean-back viewing experience that immediately connects them to a selection of TV shows, movies, and unscripted programming such as news, sports, and music,” Freevee head Ryan Pirozzi said in a statement. “MGM and Warner Bros. Discovery create content that appeals to a diverse fan base — action, comedy, drama, scripted, unscripted, and more. We are incredibly excited Freevee customers will have even more choice when it comes to what they can watch, whenever and however they choose.”
The announcement comes less than a week after the Wall Street Journal reported that WBD is in talks with Amazon to add the ad-based tier of Max to Prime Video Channels. Users can currently sign up for ad-free Max through Prime Video Channels.
Prime Video is also reportedly in early stage discussions to launch an ad-supported Prime Video tier. The report notes Amazon is “discussing various ways” to roll out ads on the streamer and planning for “short” ad breaks. One option reportedly under consideration is bringing more advertising to existing Prime subscribers and giving them the option to pay more for an ad-free alternative as well as other features.
Prime Video is currently included with Prime membership for $14.99 per month and is offered in a standalone version for $8.99 per month. Advertisers can currently reach an average monthly audience of more than 155 million viewers in the U.S. alone through Amazon’s ad-supported streaming TV offerings, including the NFL’s Thursday Night Football, Freevee, Twitch, Fire TV Channels and third-party publishers. In the first quarter of 2023, Amazon reported $9.5 billion in ad revenue, a 21% year over year increase.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on rumors or speculation. A representative for Max declined to comment. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, which are up about 44% year to date, is trading lower during Monday’s trading session, while Amazon shares, which are up approximately 42% year to date, have climbed about 2%.
