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Amazon Prime Will Run Ads Unless Users Fork Over Extra Cash
December 27, 2023
Amazon has set the date for introducing ad breaks to streaming content on Prime Video. Unless users fork over extra cash, these ads will become a regular part of the streaming giant’s programming on Jan. 29, 2024.
In an email to Prime subscribers, Amazon said the addition of limited advertisements during Prime Video movies and TV shows will allow the company “to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.”
Per Deadline, the email reads, “We are writing to you today about an upcoming change to your Prime Video experience. Starting January 29, Prime Video movies and TV shows will include limited advertisements.”
Prime Video Ads Are Coming On January 29, Amazon Announces To Subscribers https://t.co/J5DPfRenMK
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) December 27, 2023
It continued, “This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time. We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Prime membership.”
The statement concluded that a new ad-free option would cost an additional $2.99 monthly. Prime Video customers can pre-register for the monthly ad-free option but won’t be billed until the date the ads begin running.
Advertisements reportedly won’t be included in content that is rented or purchased. Customers in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands, and American Samoa won’t see ads in their experience at this point, according to Amazon.
Amazon announced that this major programming change was coming on Sept. 22. Amazon Prime follows other streaming platforms, such as Disney+, Netflix, and Max, in offering ad-supported tiers to customers.
The ads will be added to movies and TV shows starting in January 2024 in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada, followed by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in the year. Amazon says its ads will be “meaningfully fewer” than on cable TV.
Amazon Prime currently costs $14.99 per month or $139 annually. A Prime Video-only membership is $8.99 per month.
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