Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to start integrating ads into movies and TV shows streamed from its Prime Video service, and now the company has revealed a specific date when it will start seeing them: it's January 29. “This will allow us to continue investing in engaging content and continue to increase that investment over a long period of time,” the company said in an email to customers about the upcoming shift to “limited advertising.”
“We aim to have significantly less advertising than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. There is no action required from you, and no change to the current price of your Prime membership,” the company wrote. Customers have the option of paying an additional $2.99. Monthly to continue avoiding ads.
The rest of the email summarizes the many benefits of subscribing to Prime — no doubt an attempt to prevent customers from canceling because of this decision. edge Readers weren't too happy with the initial news in September:
Amazon Prime currently costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year. (Prime Video can be subscribed individually for $8.99 per month.) The new fee for ad-free streaming will bring Prime to just under $18, and will push standalone Prime Video to just under $12.
Amazon also runs Freevee, a free, ad-sponsored streaming service. “Live event content such as sports and content delivered through Amazon Freevee will continue to include ads,” the company email notes.
This move comes as competing streaming services continue to raise subscription rates in all areas. The monthly cost of Amazon Prime won't change, but if you want to keep the same experience you have today starting January 29, you'll end up paying more.
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