Prime Video has just copied Netflix and Disney+ in the worst possible way with an unpopular new product. An optional change… provided you take out your credit card.
We have already mentioned it, but SVOD platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ are still seeking to achieve profitability with their model. And this concerns all market services, including Amazon’s Prime Video. One of the direct ways to achieve their objectives is to increase the price of subscriptions. But lately, we are also seeing an invasion of advertisements that are strongly reminiscent of linear TV. A novelty that subscribers would gladly do without…
A disguised increase in the price of the Prime Video subscription
To increase the revenue generated by their subscriptions, Netflix and Disney+ have launched offers with advertisements… but cheaper? Well no ! Rather, it is a disguised price increase that forces users to upgrade by paying more each month. And unfortunately, it is this model that Prime Video has chosen to reproduce. From this Tuesday, April 9, 2024, you will be forced to view advertisements lasting 15 to 60 seconds, for a total not exceeding 3 and a half minutes per hour.
“Starting April 9, 2024, Prime Video films and series will include advertising in limited quantities. This will allow us to continue to invest in attractive content and increase our investments over the long term, in order to maintain the quality and quantity of content on Prime Video. Amazon announced in a press release intended for subscribers. In this message, the firm also promised that there would be no change to the subscription price. But that’s not completely true.
If you agree to view these ads, then yes, your subscription will not change. This means that you will always be billed €6.99 per month or €69.99. On the other hand, if you hate advertising breaks and you don’t want them to interfere with your films and series to watch, then you will have to pay to remove them. Amazon allows you to get rid of ads in Prime Video content for €1.99 per month. A tax which is added to the basic subscription for a total amount of €8.98 per month.
Goodbye to Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision?
Another change could well annoy Prime Video subscribers. In the United States, the Forbes newspaper witnessed a very unpleasant surprise. The classic subscription at €6.99 no longer allows you to watch films or series in Dolby Atmos and/or Dolby Atmos. And this is not just a temporary bug, but a development desired by Amazon for its video streaming offering. “Since the publication of this article, Amazon Prime Video has confirmed to me that the removal of Dolby Vision and Dolby Vision from the basic subscription was deliberate. It was not a technical error” explained the magazine. For France, there has yet been no announcement on the subject.