Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service has announced the introduction of ads, which will play automatically at pre-determined intervals during consumers’ watch time.
Effective in the US, UK, Canada and Germany from this Monday, viewers can now expect to encounter ‘brief’ ads during their movie and TV show binges, unless they opt for an ‘ad-free experience’ at an additional cost. This development follows Amazon’s announcement of their in-stream advertising initiative in September last year.
Rollout is expected in Australia by late 2024, as is the same for France, Italy, Spain and Mexico. Amazon emphasised on their site that Prime Video will aim to have ‘meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers’.
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If users wish to remain ad-free, they will need to fork out an additional $3 per month, after selecting ‘Go Ad Free’ on their Prime app or web browser. Certain mobile devices will display a blue ‘Ad’ icon with a line through it. Additionally, a pop-up window may prompt Prime Video users to sign up for the ad-free version.
The change to costs will mean Australian subscribers to Prime’s basic level will have to go from paying $9.99 a month to $12.99 – or simply bear the ads.
The introduction of ads on Prime Video follows in the footsteps of Netflix, Binge and Disney Plus, both of which introduced ad-supported tiers in 2022.
The advertising on Prime Video will be present in all content, including children’s programming. However, a more detailed review of the ad-based version is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
