Movies and series - Prime Video: Amazon's streaming service gets advertising - or becomes 3 euros more expensive
Just when you think streaming can't get any more expensive, annoying, jagged or disruptive, some of the countless providers still have an ace up their sleeve. This time it affects customers of one of the biggest streaming portals - Amazon Prime Video.
Amazon writes on a corresponding offer page: "A few ads will be displayed in Prime movies and series from February 5. Pre-order the ad-free version to watch the titles without ads." Previously, ads were only part of the daily routine for live TV, Freevee and channel bookings.
Amazon communicated the change back in September(find out more here), but has not yet named any specific costs. Even then, the company was looking for explanatory words and justified the move as a way of "offering even more fantastic content for Prime members".
Amazon subscription with no advertising up to 40 percent more expensive
If you don't want to be interrupted in future, you will have to pay an additional 2.99 euros on top of the usual Prime subscription fees (currently 8.99 euros per month or 89.90 euros per year without special conditions). The annual subscription, if you don't want to see any advertising, will therefore rise to 125.78 euros - an increase of around 40 percent.
If you pay monthly and buy freedom from advertising, you pay around 33 percent more. The 8.99 euros become 11.98 euros, so you would end up with 143.76 euros per year.
Form and quantity of advertisements is unknown
So far, there is no official information on how Amazon will display the ad breaks. It is therefore unclear whether there will be interruptions in the middle of exciting scenes or whether the ads will only be shown before or after a completed episode or movie. The current wording leaves enough room for interpretation, as the "few ads" are to be shown "in Prime films and series". It could therefore also be so-called "overlay" advertising, which is displayed while the streaming content continues. This is mainly known from the sports programs of private broadcasters.
The future freedom from advertising can already be pre-ordered from Amazon. Customer accounts will then be charged the corresponding additional fees from February 5.
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- Despite the rise in prices, Prime Video's main competitor, Netflix, continues to offer an ad-free streaming experience for its subscribers.
- As a strategic move, Amazon is introducing short advertisements to Prime Video's series and movies, following in the footsteps of services like Netflix's competitor, Hulu, which has been utilizing advertising to lower subscription costs.
- In the quest for cost-effective entertainment, viewers might be enticed by streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, which remain ad-free, offering an alternative to the slightly more expensive Prime Video with advertisements.
Source: www.stern.de
