Prime Video
Amazon’s changes obscured
Some people are probably sitting in front of the TV screen annoyed after changes to Amazon Prime Video.
© SG SHOT/Shutterstock.com
Since the advertising change at Prime Video, there have been further restrictions that Amazon has not openly informed customers about.
In January, Amazon informed its Prime customers that they would soon have to pay extra if they used the streaming offer Want to use Prime Video without ads. It was not openly communicated that this change would also involve further restrictions. Regardless of this, a lawsuit is currently being prepared.
Advertising or extra costs
“So that we can offer even more fantastic content for Prime members, and to further increase these investments over a long period of time, Prime Video titles in Germany will contain limited advertising from 2024,” the shipping giant had first announced in September 2023.
In January 2024, customers were informed by email that titles on Prime Video would contain advertising from February 5th. But there is also “a new ad-free option for an additional 2.99 euros per month”. Amazon gave the impression that nothing would change apart from the impressions for customers if they did not buy their way out of advertising. Neither the original communication nor the email to customers said that there would be any restrictions.
And I’m alone again, alone…
As has now become known, the change from the beginning of February is also accompanied by some compromises in quality. The IT portal “heise.de” recently reported: “Users of the advertising subscription will no longer receive (English) 3D sound in Dolby Atmos format or a dynamic HDR image according to the Dolby Vision standard.” The “c’t” magazine from Heise Medien GmbH was able to prove this in its own tests based on reports from users. Amazon later confirmed “that Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos are only available in the ad-free version of Prime Video.” According to the report, there are fewer than 20 titles with English 3D sound in the catalog, but this is still a restriction that was not openly communicated in advance.
What will happen next with the watch party function is currently unclear. Previously, users could use the feature to watch films or series together, even if they were in different places. According to “heise.de” you can Apparently only customers who have booked the ad-free option can host a watch party. “Hosts must have a booking for ad-free Prime Video playback,” it says if you want to start a watch party in the browser. But there is also a message that the function is no longer available. An answer to a query from the news agency spot on news at Amazon had not been received by the time this article was published.
Will Amazon Prime Video soon become even more expensive?
For some, the question certainly arises as to how these compromises in the traditional subscription help to be able to offer “even more fantastic content”. An increase in the general Prime price, which in Germany is currently 8.99 euros per month or 89.90 euros per year without discounts, is certainly conceivable. “The current price for Prime membership will remain unchanged in 2024,” said the September announcement. That may be the case, but 2025 is also coming…
Consumer advice center wants to sue: Amazon is said to be acting “misleadingly”.
Regardless of the compromises in Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision as well as Watch Parties, the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) recently announced, wanting to file a lawsuit against Amazon because of the ad-free option. The vzbv is convinced that “mere information about the change is not sufficient” for it to be effective on February 5th. According to the consumer advocates, the introduction of advertising represents “a significant change in the contractual conditions” that customers would have to expressly agree to: “Since this is not mentioned in the information letter, from the association’s point of view Amazon is acting misleadingly.”