If you don’t like the number of adverts shown to you while you’re watching the latest shows and films on Amazon Prime Video, then there’s even more bad news. Amazon has confirmed it plans to deliver even more video ads to all its Prime Video customers soon, even if you pay the maximum monthly subscription fee.
According to the Financial Times, Amazon executive Kelly Day, vice-president of Prime Video International, said advertising would “ramp up a little bit more into 2025”.
Amazon has reportedly not recorded a drop in subscribers since introducing advertising to Prime Video a few months ago. Rival streaming services Netflix and Disney+ offer ad-supported subscriptions for £4.99 per month, charging more for subscriptions that show no video ads at all.
But Amazon has opted to show ads to all its Prime Video subscribers, whether they pay £5.99 per month for Prime Video only, or £8.99 per month for the full Amazon Prime service (or £95 annually). Instead, Amazon will let you pay £2.99 extra per month for both services to get rid of ads – so you pay either £8.98 or £11.98 respectively.
Amazon’s Day said the firm introduced a “very light ad load” onto Prime Video to begin with, and programmes are not usually interrupted halfway through, only with pre-roll ads before a show or film plays.
With ads apparently set to increase for Prime Video subscribers unless they stump up the extra cash, Amazon appears to be betting ads won’t bother its customers in the long run.
“We know it was a bit of a contrarian approach to take to things from us. But . . . it’s actually gone much better than we even anticipated,” the FT reports Day saying. Customers leaving Prime was, “much less than we anticipated”.
Perhaps this move to increase ads shouldn’t be surprising. Amazon is a retailer, after all. Many of the upcoming ads are expected to be interactive, where you will be able to click through to purchase an item using your remote, or scan a QR card with your phone. This will undoubtedly be designed to drive more sales on Amazon’s retail site.
