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Amazon Prime Video is now reportedly focusing on adding advertisements to the site. The OTT provider declared in September 2023 that it intended to include advertisements in its films and television series; however, it withheld further information about it.
The service has now revealed that starting on January 29, 2024, customers will need to pay extra to remove advertisements from their streaming content. Amazon made the statement in response to other streaming services that have started charging more for their services.
Hulu, Disney+, Netflix, Max, and Paramount Plus have advertisements on their most affordable packages. However, Amazon Prime claimed to “have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.”
According to the company, these advertisements will enable it to keep making long-term investments in “compelling content.” This entire incident has displeased netizens. Once the news was uploaded on X (formerly Twitter) by @PopCrave, social media users took to the post's comment section to bash the streaming service.
Netizens slam Amazon Prime Video for its decision to start showing ads and charging extra for the ad-free version
The streaming platform for TV shows and movies has announced that consumers who want to maintain their existing ad-free viewing experience can do so for an extra $2.99 per month. If consumers are okay with the advertisements, they can keep paying their current monthly fee. As per The Verge, the streamer sent an email to the subscribers to notify them of this situation. It read,
“We are writing to you today about an upcoming change to your Prime Video experience.”
According to the outlet, the company sent the email to its members in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, and other countries. The email states that beginning on January 29, users will get ads in the middle of their content. It also said,
“Limited advertisements will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and to keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.”
The email has informed the Amazon Prime members that they can subscribe for the commercial-free option using the link provided in the email, should they prefer an ad-free viewing experience. The email did not, however, specify whether there will be a one-time annual payment option or users will have to pay every month.
Once @PopCrave uploaded the information on X, netizens flooded the comment section with criticism against the streaming service.
Currently, Amazon Prime costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year. Moreover, the business already provides Amazon Freevee, a free streaming service that runs on advertisements.
After Amazon Prime Video implements its ad-supported strategy, Apple TV+ will be the only major streaming service available for free viewing, at least for the time being.
