Back in September, Amazon announced ads would be coming to Prime Video in “early 2024”, and now we have a date set for Canada and other markets such as the U.S.
Amazon has set a date for the introduction of advertisements on its Prime Video streaming service, according to an email sent out to subscribers, reports Deadline.
Starting January 29, viewers in the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada will begin seeing commercials during series and movies on the service. These ads will expand to France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in the year.
Update Dec. 27, 10:57am PT: A Prime Video spokesperson told iPhone in Canada that limited ads will start in Canada on February 5, 2024, and not January. Viewers can now pre-order ad-free to watch without ads at the price of $2.99 CAD per month.
Amazon said the inclusion of “limited advertisements” is a strategy to sustain and escalate investments in high-quality content over an extended period.
However, there are specific exemptions to this new advertising approach. Content that is purchased or rented by customers will remain ad-free. Additionally, subscribers in certain regions, including Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Mariana Islands, will not experience the rollout of these advertisements.
The introduction of ads on Prime Video marks a significant shift in Amazon’s strategy, aligning it more closely with competitors in the streaming industry that have also adopted ad-supported models to diversify revenue streams and fund content development.
“We are writing to you today about an upcoming change to your Prime Video experience. 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. We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Prime membership,” reads the email.
Now, as stated back in September, if you don’t want to watch these ads you can pay to remove them. “We will also offer a new ad-free option for an additional $2.99 per month* that you can sign up for here. Prime Video customers have the option to pre-register for the monthly ad-free option, but won’t be billed until January 29,” said Amazon.
We’ve reached out to Prime Video for a statement and will update this story accordingly.
