Discover an Uninterrupted Viewing Journey on Amazon Prime Video - Enjoy Zero Commercials for Only $3 More!

The Amazon Prime Video platform is no longer ad-free. Viewers will encounter “between two and three-and-half minutes” of advertisements every hour, according to Amazon. Those who want to retain an ad-free experience must pay an additional $3 each month, which adds up to $36 a year.

Amazon first announced this change in September 2023. But, at that time, we didn’t know when the ad-supported model would go into effect. An official date —January 29th—was emailed to customers during the flurry of Christmas.

Ad-supported streaming is the big trend of the decade. Platforms that had previously shunned advertisements, specifically Netflix, Disney+, and Max, now offer ad-supported memberships. As the cost of ad-free streaming continues to rise, customers are forced toward the cheaper ad-supported plans, which actually generate more revenue per user.

Unfortunately, streaming is not a profitable business. Original content is an expensive gamble, and time-tested classics that are guaranteed to bring in subscribers (such as Friends) cost a fortune in licensing fees. Advertisements will become even more common as sports streaming grows into maturity—YouTube TV is reportedly paying $2 billion a year for the NFL Sunday Ticket!

Prime Video says that it will have a smaller ad load than its competitors. We’ve heard the same thing from every other streaming company. Anyway, you’ll encounter about three minutes of ads every hour. Ads may play before movies or shows, though they can also interrupt whatever you’re watching.

You can pony up an extra $3 each month to retain Prime Video’s ad-free experience. If you’re paying for Amazon Prime on a monthly basis, ad-free streaming will turn your $15 membership fee into an $18 fee (which adds up to $216 after a year). Annual subscribers, who are currently paying $139, will pay a total of $175 after enabling ad-free viewing. Visit your Account & Settings page to go ad-free.

The only good part of this story is that Amazon won’t increase the price of Prime in 2024. That’s what Amazon promised last September , at least, but this might still be a good time to assess the value of your Prime subscription. If you only use Prime for free shipping and video streaming, it may not be worth $139+ each year. Generally speaking, Amazon Prime is only worth the money if you fully take advantage of its perks .

Source: Amazon

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