Amazon is sticking ads on Prime Video shows and movies unless you pay more

Amazon is sticking ads on Prime Video shows and movies unless you pay more

Your Prime Video experience is about to be downgraded unless you cough up an extra $3 each month. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon has announced plans to start placing “limited advertisements” in TV shows and movies running on the company’s Prime Video streaming platform, to allow the e-commerce giant to “continue investing in compelling content.” According to Amazon’s press release, the ads will first be introduced on Prime Video content in the US, UK, Germany, and Canada on an unmentioned date in “early 2024,” with France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia to follow later that year.

Amazon says it doesn’t have plans to change the current price of its Prime memberships in 2024, and Prime members will be notified of the change several weeks before the ad injections begin, along with details to sign up for the ad-free option. US-based Prime members will be able to revert back to an ad-free experience for an additional $2.99 per month on top of their existing subscription. Prime memberships in the US cost $14.99 per month, or $139 per year if paid annually. Pricing for the ad-free option for other countries will be shared “at a later date.”

The introduction of ads comes at a time when Amazon is undergoing cost-cutting across the company, and arrive as price increases and ad-supported tiers launch on competing streaming services.