Amazon Prime Video announced that it will start showing ads to its subscribers in early 2024 unless they opt for an ad-free tier that will cost an additional USD 2.99 per month.
The new charging scheme will first take effect in the US, the UK, Germany, and Canada in early 2024, followed by a few more countries later that same year.
The move comes as Amazon seeks to increase its revenue from its video content, which includes exclusive originals, live sports, and third-party channels. According to Amazon, the ads will be “relevant and engaging” and will not interrupt the viewing experience.
The ad-free tier will cost USD 2.99 more per month on top of the current Prime Video subscription. In the US, Amazon Prime membership costs USD 14.99 per month or USD 139 per year.
Amazon is not the first streaming service to offer different tiers of subscriptions with or without ads. Netflix and Disney+ have both added plans that show ads in 2022, available only in some countries.
The company said that it expects the ads to help it invest more in creating original and exclusive content for its customers, as well as expanding its global reach.
In the Philippines, Prime Video actually did a reverse and dropped its subscription fee to PHP 149 per month (from PHP 259 per month) in 2022. And while the size of its library isn’t as vast as Netflix’s, it’s a good alternative nonetheless with interesting content and a host of original movies and TV shows, such as The Boys, Upload, Reacher, Paper Girls, The Wheel of Time, and The Terminal List.
Amazon Prime Video currently has over 200 million subscribers worldwide and offers thousands of titles across various genres and languages.
