Amazon Will Introduce Adverts In Prime Video Streaming Service Next Year

Amazon will introduce adverts into its Prime Video streaming service next year, to raise more money with which to make original content.

Customers in the UK, US, Germany and Canada will start to see adverts from early 2024, but they can avoid them by subscribing for an “ad-free” option at an additional cost.

Other territories including France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia will see adverts on Prime Video from later in 2024.

“To continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time, starting in 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertisements in the UK,” Amazon said in a statement.

It insisted its service still offered “compelling value” despite the changes.

Amazon said that it would aim “to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers”.

The company will get in touch with Prime members a few weeks before ads are introduced to show how to sign-up for the ad-free option if they wish to.

It’s been confirmed that the “ad-free” subscription tier will cost an extra $2.99 per month in the US, with pricing elsewhere in the world yet to be confirmed.

Live event broadcasts, like sports matches, will still include adverts even for those who sign up to the ad-free option.

Some of Amazon’s rival streamers, including Disney+ and Netflix, have also brought in adverts in recent months, particularly as they have struggled to hold onto customers amid growing inflation worldwide. These rivals play the ads before and even during their content, much like watching a commercial TV channel, and it’s believed Amazon will do the same.

The multi-billion-dollar company announced the news in a blog post on Friday.

Amazon Prime Video is one of the products that customers get when they subscribe to Amazon Prime, the tech giant’s paid subscription service.