Amazon Prime Video Now Includes Ads

Amazon Prime users will now see ads as part of their streaming experience. Promotions will appear as viewers watch some of their favorite series, movies, and specials.

Shortly after Christmas 2023, Amazon emailed customers to announce the ad rollout. The updated plan without ads costs an extra $2.99 per month.

This brings a $14.99-per-month Prime subscription to $17.98 per month or an $8.99-per-month standalone Prime Video subscription to $11.98 per month.

Amazon Prime users will not automatically be transferred to the new ad-free plan. However, it can be ordered from Amazon’s website.

Amazon is bringing ads to Prime Video and will charge you to avoid them https://t.co/hXA4NYPs2p

— CNN (@CNN) September 22, 2023

Amazon says it is making the change to allow it to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period. While viewers will have a wait-and-see approach to how many ads Amazon will show on the ad-supported tier, the company aims to “have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.”

Now, the five largest streaming services in America all have ads. Amazon follows in the footsteps of Netflix, Disney+, Max, and Paramount+.

Once an ad-free zone, most streamers are now filled with the same ads viewers see on network television. This extra revenue stream benefits the services but puts consumers in the same predicament they’ve been in for years: having to watch commercials until their show or movie continues.

“There was a strong legacy of an anti-ads position in the company,” said Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters in an interview with Stratechery on Thursday. He believes that there is a positive aspect to ad-tier viewing.

Peters takes an approach of showing people “the positives,” which involves letting people opt into the new pricing only if they want to. He appreciates that Amazon continues to give its customers choices.

Peter went on to explain, “So what’s the point of ads? What’s the payoff? For me, the most important thing is thinking about this as extending our range of accessibility for customers, and what I love about it is you can bring this lower consumer-facing price point. It’s got lots of leverage in terms of how different go-to-market channels, how you do bundling, all these kinds of different things.”