Back in December 2023, Amazon Prime Video expressed its plan to integrate “meaningfully fewer ads” into its video streaming services. Now, the platform has reportedly begun placing ads in the middle of TV shows and movies.
Users In These Regions Must Pay $3 For Not Watch Ads
According to several reports, Amazon Prime Video is running in-stream ads in several regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany. Soon, users in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia will also see ads on the app. Most recently, the popular OTT service Netflix did the same thing by killing the Basic tier and launching a more affordable ad-supported tier.
Revised Prime Membership Price
Viewers in the United States who want to see an ad-free experience must pay $3 a month over the cost of the subscription. The Amazon Prime Video service is included in the Amazon Prime subscription ($15 per month), which provides access to several shopping-related benefits, such as timely delivery at no additional cost. Users also have the option to get access to Prime Video, without the shopping benefits, for $9 a month.
Those who wish to avoid watching ads can tap on the “Go Ads Free” button and pay the additional fee to remove any advertisements from the app. This means that the effective price for an Amazon Prime membership (with no ads on Prime Video) will be $18 per month, whereas only Prime Video subscribers will be $12 per month. However, Prime Video hasn’t released an ad-free tier yet.
How Does This Affect The Indian Pricing?
Although it might look like Indian users are immune to these changes, there’s a good chance that in-stream ads can make their way to the region. The platform’s subscription fee is relatively low in the country. Hence, introducing in-stream ads will increase the overall revenue per user. Second, it will also allow Prime Video to launch a more expensive ad-free tier for users who want uninterrupted services.
Yes, there are OTT platforms in India that integrate in-stream ads, but more often than not, the content users watch these ads on is free. For instance, Sony LIV allows anyone to watch an older episode of Shark Tank India: Season 3 without paying for the app’s subscription at the cost of watching in-stream ads. On the other hand, Hotstar resorts to showing ads on lower subscription tiers. Hence, given the uncertainty and the experimental nature, Prime Video might adopt a similar model in the region.
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