Following the launch of ad-supported services by Netflix and Disney+ last year, Amazon Prime Video announced today in an update that it will begin running advertisements on Prime Video early next year. The company said that it will charge Prime members an extra $3 per month for an ad-free tier.
In early 2024, Amazon stated, advertisements would be implemented in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada. Later this year, Prime Video subscribers in France, Italy, Spain, and Mexico will start to see advertisements. The Wall Street Journal revealed in June that Amazon was only beginning to plot to add adverts to Prime Video.
According to Variety, the business committed to show fewer ads than linear programming, which is measured at four minutes per hour.
Starting in early 2024, just a small amount of ads will be shown on Prime Video series and movies in order to maintain our long-term commitment to investing in great content. According to the company’s blog post, we want to have far fewer commercials than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.
For Fire TV devices in the United States, Amazon introduced a new free and ad-supported (FAST) video experience in May. The e-commerce behemoth said in the same month that it is adding more than 100 Amazon Original TV shows and films to its ad-supported Freevee streaming service. A new Fire TV Channels app with access to more than 400 FAST channels was released by the business in August.
YouTube said earlier this month that it is experimenting with longer but fewer TV commercials that are similar to linear TV commercial breaks.
Amazon has increased the cost of a number of its products during the past several years. The yearly Prime membership increased from $119 to $139 in February 2022. The cost of Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions for individuals, Prime Members, and families has increased this year.
The minimum purchase requirement for non-Prime members to receive free delivery was upped by the firm to $35 in some areas last month.
