In just a few days, Amazon will join other major streaming services by introducing a tier system to separate standard ad-supported content and premium ad-free viewing.
The tech giant informed its customers in December that Prime Video movies and TV shows would now 'include limited advertisements.'
From January 29th 2024, those who hold an Amazon Prime subscription will need to pay an additional $2.99 a month for a new ad-free tier.
Ad-supported streaming will become the default option for viewers unless they choose to opt in for the extra monthly cost.
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Once praised for being one of the few streaming services that didn't charge extra for ad-free viewing, Amazon has now succumbed to the likes of Paramount+ and Disney.
In response, Amazon Prime users are wanting to cancel their subscriptions.
One Prime user replied on X: 'It’s so anoying i literally just changed my Netflix and Disney to the cheaper ones having to put up with ads and I praised prime for not doing this stupid tiered system, didn’t take long for them to cave to this greedy system then'.
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Another commented: 'Nope no thank you… this is part of the $139/yr we already pay, so it’s not like it was free to start with. I’m not sure this makes Prime as needed as before. Can get most of the stuff other places albeit maybe not next/2 day shipping but that’s ok.'
Whilst another pointed out: 'Streaming services are the new cable television.'
Others don't believe the the content on Amazon is worth the price hike, with one saying: 'amazon just doesn't spit out good new content like the others. yeah every few months there's something i want to watch but its not enough for me to care to pay 3 bucks more a month'
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In its latest announcement to Prime Video subscribers, the streaming platform stated that the latest change would 'allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.'
Furthermore, Amazon also claimed its ad-supported content would have 'meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.'
The tech giant has an ad-viewing option as a separate segment from its main platform, known as FreeVee. However, as part of their Prime Video membership, Amazon customers can watch a selection of movies and TV shows for free as long as they can tolerate the adverts in between.