From 2024, users of the Amazon Prime Video streaming platform will have to watch films and series with advertising – if they do not pay a surcharge. The company follows its competitors with its strategy.
In the future, Amazon customers will have to pay extra for ad-free streaming offers. From the beginning of 2024, films and series on Prime Video will contain limited advertising, as the online retailer announced today. The changes will initially be introduced in important markets such as the USA, Great Britain, Germany and Canada.
Netflix and Disney+ also have advertising subscriptions
However, for a surcharge, Prime Video users will be able to use the offer without advertising in the future, Amazon said. In the USA, additional fees of $2.99 per month are planned. The regular Prime membership costs $14.99 per month. According to the group, the amount of the surcharges in the other countries will be published at a later date. In Germany, 8.99 euros are currently due.
By displaying advertising, Amazon is following the example of rivals such as Netflix and Disney. Netflix launched a version of the service last year with advertisements before and during series. At 4.99 euros per month, the basic subscription with advertising is cheaper than the standard subscription, which costs 12.99 euros. Four to five minutes of advertising with 15 or 30 second clips are integrated every hour.
In addition to the ad-free version, Disney+ in the USA already offers a subscription with advertising, which is significantly cheaper. According to the group, around 40 percent of new customers choose this. In November, the version with ads will also be launched in “select markets” in Europe for $5.99 per month. The price of the ad-free offer should then rise. Disney+ currently costs 8.99 euros per month in Germany.
Corporations are going against it Freeloader before
The streaming industry is suffering from weak demand because consumers are reducing their consumer spending due to the gloomy economic outlook and high inflation. Some companies have recently made high losses, and the number of new customers has also weakened.
In order to boost business again, Netflix is now taking tougher action against free password sharing. In April, the group assumed that around 100 million households used the service with other people’s login data without paying for it themselves. The new strategy recently brought Netflix more new users than expected. Disney also announced in August that it would prevent password free riders.