After the USA and Great Britain, Amazon is also launching its new video-on-demand platform in Germany. Unlike many other streaming services, Freevee is free – instead, the service shows commercial breaks.
There are signs of a trend in the booming streaming market: The US Internet company Amazon is also focusing on advertising revenue with a new streaming service. Users watch series with commercial breaks, but it’s all free. After the USA and Great Britain, Germany is the third country in which this offer is placed.
Mix of own and external productions
“We offer users an offer that they would typically expect behind a paywall,” said an Amazon spokesman for the German Press Agency at the launch of the platform. It will be a mix of in-house productions, external films and series that are in the portfolio through licenses, and perspectively linear TV channels. Amazon Freevee will initially offer linear live channels – for example BBC Food or BBC Travel. All channels are available in German.
Amazon Freevee: Here’s how to watch the free streaming service
Amazon is already present in the streaming market with Prime Video. The moving image service is part of the Prime subscription, with which you can also listen to music or save on shipping costs when shopping on the Amazon platform. Recently the subscription price increased.
Freevee is also not an independent platform, but can now be reached directly via Amazon.
“That could rebuild the streaming market in Germany again”
The consulting and market research company Goldmedia sees possible effects from the new free Amazon service. Goldmedia Managing Director Klaus Goldhammer told the dpa about the offer: “It could set up the streaming market in Germany again.” Those who have shied away from subscribing until now could now be attracted. Likewise younger people who do not have the purchasing power.
Goldhammer also assumes that there will be an impact on the traditional television advertising market. Linear private TV broadcasters such as the RTL Group or ProSiebenSat.1 could face competition because advertisers might go to Amazon Freevee. For public service broadcasting with ARD and ZDF, which are currently expanding their media libraries and streaming services, new competitive pressure could arise, added Goldhammer. Because people who wanted to stream without a subscription and found what they were looking for on ARD and ZDF now have another option to choose from.
Free Streaming: A New Trend?
When streaming became established, many providers relied on revenue from subscriptions instead of advertising. Netflix, Disney, Apple, DAZN, Sky and also Amazon with its streaming service Prime Video rely on the subscription card. Many Germans like to stream and have several subscriptions at the same time – Netflix and Amazon are ahead in studies and with market observers in this country.
There are also mixed models: For example, the RTL Group’s RTL and ProSiebenSat.1’s Joyn platforms offer free advertising-financed offers, while these platforms also have subscription models. Now advertising financing in streaming is getting a major boost with Amazon. The advertising market is attractive for video providers, as has been seen for decades in the TV market, where billions in sales are generated. Or also on Youtube.
