Amazon Prime Video will now charge extra to remove ads, starting from January 29 of the coming year. Subscribers to regular Amazon Prime and Prime Video will now have to deal with commercial breaks soon unless they choose to pay an additional fee.
Amazon Prime Video Ads
Starting Jan. 29, members of Amazon Prime and Prime Video who enjoy ad-free streaming of shows such as Reacher and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will now need to fork over an additional $3 per month in a bid to watch those programs as well as other shows and movies without commercials.
Amazon reportedly announced the start date in an email to its clients and customers this week. The company had initially revealed plans for ads in Prime Video in the early parts of this year.
Content of Amazon’s Email to Affected Customers
The change in question “will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time,” Amazon in the email stated. “We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.”
The ad-free fee as you should know applies both to regular Amazon Prime members, who at the moment pay $139 a year for fast shipping and perks such as Prime Video, and to users who now pay $9 a month for a standalone subscription to Prime Video. Members of Prime and Prime Video can now preorder the ad-free tier.
Streaming Services Modifying Their Offerings with Ad-Supported Tiers
Prime Video as you should know now joins the growing number of streaming services that are modifying their offerings with ad-supported tiers. Just in the previous year streaming giant Netflix launched a cheaper, $7 a-month tier with ads, and the offering in question has now attracted nearly 5 million subscribers. Netflix also reportedly increased the cost of its ad-free tiers. Peacock, too, on the other hand, has an ad-supported option and also spiked the prices of its premium subscriptions. Disney and Hulu too have also announced price hikes as well.
Amazon revealed that it had no further comment beyond the email that it sent users.
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