Buckle up, Amazon is getting ready to introduce commercials to Prime Video.
Starting early next year, commercials will appear in movies and TV series streaming on Prime Video in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Canada. France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia will follow suit later in the year. Prime members currently pay $14.99 for the service, which includes free shipping on Amazon and other benefits, but if they want to avoid commercials moving forward, they will have to pay an additional $2.99 per month in the U.S.
It’s not clear how many commercials we’re talking about, but Amazon said that they will be “limited,” with their goal being “to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.” Almost all major streaming services include ad-supported subscriptions in addition to ad-free, including Netflix and Disney+, so Prime Video is simply the latest to join up. This change “will allow the company to continue investing in content and increasing that investment over time.” Got to pay for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power somehow.
Does it feel like we’re going backwards? When streaming started growing in popularity, one of the main draws was getting away from the commercials. But little by little, streaming services realized they really missed that sweet, sweet advertiser money. I can’t say I blame them, but with most of us paying for multiple streaming services in order to have all our favourites in one place, have we just come full circle back to television?
If you’re already a Prime Video subscriber, are you willing to cough up a few extra bucks to avoid commercials next year?