Amazon announced the shift in September and on Monday began to roll out adverts in its streaming service, Prime Video. consumers in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany will be the first to benefit from this launch in early 2024; later in the year, consumers in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia will also be served.
Limited adverts will be included on Prime Video, according to Amazon, which stated that there will be “meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.” For $3 a month, viewers in the US can avoid advertisements; at a later date, a no-ads option will be made available to viewers in other countries. The business stated at the time of its original announcement that there are no intentions to raise the current price of Prime subscriptions in 2024.
You can click the “Go Ad Free” tab in the app or web browser to stop seeing advertisements. You may notice a blue “Ad” icon with a line through it on certain mobile devices. Users of Prime Video can also get a pop-up window with an opportunity to subscribe to the version without ads.
In addition to hundreds of more titles you may stream as part of your subscription, Prime Video features original TV series and films produced by Amazon Studios. For an additional monthly fee, Prime Video subscribers may also add on subscriptions to Max, Paramount Plus, Starz, and a number of other channels. The platform also offers episodes and movies that you can purchase or rent.
An Amazon Prime subscription, which costs $15 per month or $139 annually, includes access to Prime Video. For $9 a month, it is also offered as a stand-alone subscription. According to CNET’s evaluation, Prime Video is a “really great included perk” with a Prime subscription, but it isn’t as strong on its own as rival services like Netflix and Hulu.
In 2022, Netflix and Disney Plus joined the majority of other major streaming services, such as Max (formerly HBO Max) and Hulu, in offering a plan that includes advertising. Max is on the pricier end, with its ad-supported subscription costing $10 per month, while Paramount Plus and Peacock have ad-supported options starting at $6 per month.
Through Amazon Freevee, the company has experience with ad-supported streaming. The streaming service, formerly known as IMDb TV, is free to use and is subsidized by a small number of commercials. It features a variety of additional films and series in addition to unique content from Freevee and Amazon. For Prime Video, there is also a Freevee channel.
Ads are initially present in all of Prime Video’s content, including for younger audiences. However, be sure to check back in the upcoming weeks for our assessment of the version with ads. Are you unsure about the finest streaming service to use? You can pick the best live TV streaming service or the best free TV streaming service by using CNET’s ranking of all the major streaming providers.
