Amazon is gearing up to introduce advertisements to its Prime Video streaming service in the New Year.
From 5 February, 2024, the streamer’s customers in the UK and Germany will now encounter “limited” ads unless they opt to pay £2.99 per month to eliminate them.
In a strategic move, competitors such as Disney+ and Netflix had earlier introduced more affordable ad-supported memberships amidst subscription price hikes.
The rationale behind the move, according to Amazon, is to “allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time”.
It assured customers that they aim to have “meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers”.
The update was conveyed to customers through an email from the company.
Even for those who choose to pay to remove ads, Amazon clarified live content such as sports will still include advertising.
For customers in the US and Canada, the introduction of ads will take place earlier, starting from 29 January.
Amazon also has plans to extend this feature to France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in 2024.
But there seems to be a disparity in ad-free pricing, with UK customers paying £2.99, while customers in Germany will pay £2.60, while those in the US will pay £2.35.
An Amazon Prime subscription, which includes one-day delivery on products and access to its streaming service, last saw a price increase in 2022.
Amazon’s decision to introduce ads follows several announcements about future content, including renewals of popular series such as ‘Leverage: Redemption’ and ‘The Boys’.
Additionally, the company has struck a deal with Games Workshop to bring ‘Warhammer 40,000’ to the big screen, featuring British actor and avid gamer Henry Cavill.
Other high-profile content in the pipeline includes the much-anticipated series based on the video game ‘Fallout’.
Disney+ also expanded its ad-supported service to the UK in August 2023, while Netflix had previously introduced its “basic with ads” streaming plan in 2022.
