By Starting February 5, 2024, Amazon Prime Video will be sporting a new addition in the UK: ads. Customers will encounter “limited” adverts unless they opt to pay an extra £2.99 per month to enjoy an ad-free experience.
This move follows the footsteps of competitors like Disney+ and Netflix, both of which have introduced cheaper ad-supported memberships while facing price hikes.
Amazon justified the change as a means to sustain investments in compelling content and further increase these investments over time. The company assured customers in an email that their aim is to have noticeably fewer ads compared to traditional TV and other streaming platforms.
Even for those who choose to pay for an ad-free experience, live content such as sports will continue to include advertising. The ad rollout begins on January 29 for customers in the US and Canada, with plans to extend to France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in 2024.
However, UK customers might feel the pinch as they’ll have to pay a higher price for an ad-free experience compared to their counterparts in Germany and the US.
Apart from this development, Amazon has been making strides in content creation, including securing the rights to develop shows and movies based on Warhammer 40,000. They’ve also inked deals for series like Fallout and renewed popular shows like Leverage: Redemption and The Boys.
This move echoes Disney+’s expansion of its ad-supported service to the UK in August 2023 and Netflix’s introduction of a “basic with ads” streaming plan back in 2022.
With these changes, Amazon Prime’s subscription, known for its one-day delivery and streaming service combo, has seen its last price hike in 2022. Monthly subscriptions went up by £1 to £8.99, while annual memberships rose from £79 to £95.
