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Ads are coming to Amazon‘s Prime Video.
The company announced Friday that its streaming service – a part of Prime subscriptions that cost $14.99 a month – will now have limited ads in its TV series and movies. Ads on Prime Video will be available in the U.S., other cities, and later this year in other countries. Customers in the U.S. who don’t wish to see commercials will be required to pay $2.99 more per month. The company announced that ads will still be shown during live events and sports. )
Prime customers will get an email in the weeks leading up to the advertising rollout, which will include the option to sign up for the ad-free tier.
“To continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time, starting in early 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertisements,” the company said in a post on Friday.
Amazon said it plans to have “meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming providers. “
Prime Video will now join rival streaming services, including
Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery‘s Max and Disney‘s Hulu and Disney+, that are leaning on advertising. The ad-supported options are not only giving consumers a cheaper option as the list of streaming apps grows, but also bringing in an additional revenue source.Media companies in particular have been trying a variety of ways to make the streaming business profitable, from advertising to password-sharing crackdowns to cost-cutting.
Streaming behemoth Netflix switched gears late last year and began offering a cheaper, ad-supported plan. Netflix initially resisted advertising but, as subscription growth slowed down, it instituted this option to increase revenue. The company removed its cheapest, ad-free plan to encourage more people to sign up for the ad option.