The time has come. As promised, Amazon Prime Video will make a radical change which will not please subscribers. If you don’t want one, prepare to heat up the credit card.
Amazon Prime Video is one of the most popular SVOD platforms, alongside Netflix and Disney+. Generally speaking, the catalog satisfies subscribers, and it knows how to renew itself to maintain their interest. However, this does not mean that all the decisions made are to the taste of the spectators. On this subject, the American giant has officially implemented something that was feared by everyone: advertisements.
Advertising has arrived on Prime Video
To put you in context, last June, the Wall Street Journal published a scoop that shocked readers. Amazon was in the process of starting discussions with advertisers, with a very specific objective: to include advertisements in the subscription. And indeed, it wasn’t just a rumor. We were even given a release date, set for January 29, 2024. It is now the 30th, and therefore, the sentence has fallen. However, not everyone is affected yet.
The ads have landed on Prime Video… in the United States. Don’t get carried away too quickly, it will gradually happen in other countries. Normally, the next targets will be the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. France is indeed in the crosshairs of this change, but for the moment, we are not sure when it will take effect. According to Philippe Bailly, president and co-founder of NPA Conseil, this would be for April 10, 2024. There is therefore not much time left to take advantage of the ad-free offer.
Don’t want it? You have to pay
To do things correctly, Amazon sent an email to its subscribers to keep them informed of the news. In passing, this allowed us to obtain additional information on the addition of advertisements. Already, this will be visibly limited to the giant’s own creations (films, series). Then, TV spots should – technically – be shorter. Bailly mentioned a duration of 3 minutes and 30 minutes of advertisements per hour, which seems to be confirmed in the US. It’s less than 4 minutes of Netflix and Disney+, without being earth-shattering.
Let’s move on to the million-dollar question: how much does it cost to avoid this? Yes, you have to prepare to put your hand in your wallet, even if it is not obligatory. In any case, you will have to pay an additional $2.99 per month to remove advertising. It goes without saying that this doesn’t make everyone happy, but that’s to be expected, since the platform only follows the movement.
Dear Prime members,
We are writing to you today to let you know of an upcoming change in your experience. Starting January 29, Prime Video movies and TV shows will include a limited number of ads. This will allow us to continue to invest in attractive content, and to increase our investments over the long term.
Our objective is to offer significantly fewer ads than linear television, or other video streaming platforms (editor’s note: Netflix, Disney+). No action is necessary on your part, and the current price of your Prime membership remains unchanged. We will also offer a new ad-free option for an additional cost of $2.99 per month.
Email sent by Amazon to inform subscribers of the change