Amazon Prime Video Subscribers, Get Ready To Pay Extra Or Start Seeing Ads

Starting Jan. 29, viewers of Amazon Inc.’s AMZN Prime Video will begin to see ads unless they pay an additional amount.

What Happened: Earlier this year, Amazon shared its intentions to introduce ads to its Prime Video streaming service. The e-commerce behemoth has now confirmed Jan. 29 as the date when this change will take effect, reported The Verge. 

Amazon, through an email to its customers, stated that the aim of this strategy is to continue investing in captivating content and progressively ramp up this investment.

“Starting January 29, Prime Video movies and TV shows will include limited advertisements. This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time,” the platform said in the email. 

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Amazon has reassured its customers the current Prime membership price will remain unaltered. 

However, an additional monthly fee of $2.99 will be applicable for customers desiring an ad-free viewing experience. This will increase the cost of the standalone Prime Video service to just under $12 per month.

The company also affirmed that its free, ad-sponsored streaming service, Freevee, will continue to feature advertising. This move comes as competitors in the streaming service sector are hiking subscription rates and introducing advertisements for customers choosing their most economical monthly plans.

Previously, Amazon’s decision to introduce ads was applauded by an analyst who forecasted an increase in revenue for the company. 

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