Amazon is gearing up to introduce advertisements to its Prime Video streaming service in the new year.
Starting Feb. 5, the streamer’s customers in the U.K. and Germany will now encounter limited ads unless they opt to pay the per-month fee to eliminate them.
In a strategic move, competitors such as Disney+ and Netflix had earlier introduced more affordable ad-supported memberships amid subscription price hikes.
The rationale behind the move, according to Amazon, is to “allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.” The streaming service assured customers that it aims to have “meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.”
The update was conveyed to customers through an email from the company.
Even for those who choose to pay to remove ads, Amazon clarified live content such as sports will still include advertising.
For customers in the U.S. and Canada, the introduction of ads will take place earlier, starting on Jan. 29. Amazon also has plans to extend this feature to France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia later in 2024.
But there seems to be a disparity in ad-free pricing: U.K. customers pay the equivalent of $3.81 in U.S. dollars, while customers in Germany will pay $3.31 and those in the U.S. will pay $2.99.
An Amazon Prime subscription — which includes one-day delivery of products and access to its streaming service — last saw a price increase in 2022.
Amazon’s decision to introduce ads follows several announcements about future content, including renewals of popular series such as “Leverage: Redemption” and “The Boys.”
Additionally, the company has struck a deal with Games Workshop to bring “Warhammer 40,000” to the big screen, featuring British actor and avid gamer Henry Cavill.
Other high-profile content in the pipeline includes the much-anticipated series based on the video game “Fallout.”
Disney+ also expanded its ad-supported service to the U.K. in August 2023, while Netflix had previously introduced its “basic with ads” streaming plan in 2022.
