Competition from Amazon and Netflix forces Sony to shut down Crackle

Sony Pictures Television is closing down its free-VOD service Crackle in the UK on April 1. The company has not issued any formal statements, but people visiting the portal’s website see the message that reads “We’d like to thank all those who have supported and enjoyed Crackle UK. As of April 1, 2014 Crackle’s UK service will no longer be operating.”

Looks like the video services war in the U.K. just produced its first casualty: Sony is closing down the U.K. edition its Crackle video service on April 1 (hat tip toBroadband TV News). The company posted a notice about the closure on Crackle’s U.K. homepage that read: “We’d like to thank all those who have supported and enjoyed Crackle UK. As of April 1, 2014 Crackle’s UK service will no longer be operating.” Crackle is offering viewers free, ad-supported video content, including full-length movies and TV show episodes. The service also operates in the U.S. as well as Canada, Australia and close to 20 countries across Latin America, and those operations aren’t affected by this closure.