Amazon Prime Making Big Change in 2024 with the Addition of Ads Unless You Pay More

As consumers are increasingly saddled with rising costs, Amazon has decided to follow suit, announcing a shift toward adding “limited advertisements” to its Prime Video service starting early next year.

The move is said to allow the e-commerce behemoth “to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time,” according to a company statement.

Prime Video has evolved beyond its initial scope to include an array of content choices, such as “hit movies, great shows, award-winning Amazon Originals, and live sports.” The service comes at a monthly price of $8.99 or as a bundled perk with Amazon Prime memberships, priced at $14.99 per month or $139.99 per annum.

Amazon seeks to differentiate itself from traditional television and its streaming competitors by claiming, “We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.”

The implementation of ads will initially affect customers in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada in early 2024. The strategy will later extend to France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia within the same year.

For those concerned about the integrity of their viewing experience, Amazon assures that “No action is required for Prime members. We’re not making changes in 2024 to the current price of Prime membership.”

In addition, an ad-free option will be available for an extra $2.99 per month for U.S. Prime members, with international pricing details to follow.

The decision to add ads doesn’t disrupt the already existing ad framework for live sports, including Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football NFL games, which will continue to feature advertisements.

Are you an Amazon Prime member?

While Amazon rationalizes this move as a need to fund high-quality content, it is noteworthy that this development follows price increases across other major streaming services.

Disney, for instance, announced its second price hike in a year. As of October 12, the ad-free Disney+ subscription will cost $13.99 per month, up from $10.99. Hulu’s ad-free option will jump to $17.99 monthly from $14.99.

Meanwhile, Netflix has reportedly been experiencing strong U.S. sign-up rates, proving that efforts to curb password sharing haven’t significantly hindered its growth.

Other new entrants into the streaming war, like Warner Bros. Discovery’s platform—fusing HBO Max and Discovery+ content—have also opted for tiered pricing plans. Its service, Max, offers three different membership options, ranging from $9.99 per month with ads to an “Ultimate Ad-Free” plan for $19.99 per month, boasting multiple device streaming and 4K UHD with Dolby Atmos on select titles.

Amazon’s shift to include advertising adds yet another layer of cost to consumers. While they tout their Prime membership will not change, it will cost you an extra $2.99 a month to keep it the same. As all of these companies enter into the streaming world with the death of cable TV imminent and the impact high inflation is having on consumers, it will be interesting to see how end users choose what services to keep, add or just delete.

Recently Posted