Amazon Prime Video to Begin Featuring Ads on January 29
Three months after Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) first announced that it would begin featuring ads on Prime Video content in 2024, the company has given a specific start date in a letter sent to subscribers this week: January 29.
“This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time,” the company said in the letter. Amazon also assured customers that the number of ads would be “meaningfully fewer” than traditional TV and other streaming services.
The company emphasized that there would be no change to the current price of the Prime membership, which stands at $14.99 per month or $139 annually. But for users seeking an ad-free experience, Amazon offers an opt-out option at an additional cost of $2.99 per month. This would bring the total cost of an ad-free Prime subscription to just below $18 per month, with standalone Prime Video priced at just under $12 monthly.
Amazon, already operating the ad-supported streaming service Freevee, clarified that certain content, such as live events and offerings on Freevee, would continue to include advertisements.
This move by Amazon follows the industry trend where competing streaming services like Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, and Paramount Plus have incorporated ads into their lower-tier subscription plans, while Apple TV+ remains subscription-only.
According to the September announcement, the ads in Prime Video content will be first introduced in the US, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada in early 2024, with France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia following suit by the end of the same year.
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