Key Takeaways
- Amazon will show “limited” ads to Prime subscribers starting Jan. 29.
- An ad-free tier will be available for an extra $2.99 per month.
- The number and frequency of ads on Prime Video is still unknown, but Amazon claims it will have fewer ads than other streaming platforms.
Amazon is changing its Prime Video service in a way that viewers aren’t likely to love. Starting on Jan. 29, the company will show what it describes as “limited” ads to Prime subscribers. For those who don’t want to see commercials mixed in with their content, Amazon will begin offering an ad-free tier that lets them enjoy the streaming service without ads interrupting their shows and movies.
The company announced its intentions to start showing ads earlier in 2023, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention. However, this update provides us with the exact date.
This is a smart move for Amazon because few are likely to cancel their Amazon Prime subscription over the inclusion of ads, as Prime has many other benefits beyond the video streaming service. Instead, most users will probably deal with the ads, putting extra money in Amazon’s pocket. And for the few who can’t, they’ll have to pay extra, which also bumps up the company’s bottom line.
How to cancel Amazon Prime Video channel and app subscriptions
If you use a Fire TV and want to cancel a Prime Video channel or streaming service app subscription, it’s not exactly easy to do.
How much is Prime Video without ads?
Amazon announced that users who prefer to watch Prime Video without ads (as it is now) will need to pay $2.99 per month. While it doesn’t sound like a lot at first glance, it’s another $36 annually and an additional monthly subscription on top of all the other services avid movie and TV show viewers need to pay for.
Ultimately, we think it’s probably best to wait and see how intrusive the ads are to the overall Prime Video watching experience before shelling out any extra cash. Sure, it’s only $3, but all of those little bumps add up, and if the ads aren’t too annoying, it’s probably best to deal with them.
How often will Amazon show ads?
Amazon didn’t get into specifics regarding the number of ads we’d see while watching Prime Video or exactly how often an ad would interrupt the content. However, the company did say in an email to subscribers that it wanted to show fewer ads than other streaming platforms. “We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Prime membership,” the company wrote.
We’ll have to wait until after Jan. 29, when we can test out the ad-supported version of Amazon Prime Video for ourselves to see how intrusive the ads are. If it’s only between episodes of a series, for example, it won’t be too bad. If it’s breaking up a show multiple times to show an ad, that extra $2.99 monthly becomes a little more appealing.
How much is Prime currently?
An Amazon Prime subscription currently sells for $14.99 monthly or $139 annually. For just Prime Video without the other Prime benefits, it’s $8.99 per month. This new ad-free option would bump the monthly price to $17.98 for the full Prime subscription or $11.98 for just Prime Video. That’s still in line with other streaming services (Hulu without ads goes for $17.99 per month, for example).
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