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Months after announcing it would add advertising to its streaming movies and shows, Amazon announced Tuesday that advertising will begin on January 29th.
“This allows us to continue to invest in compelling content and continue to grow that investment over a long period of time. Our goal is to run significantly less advertising than linear television and other streaming TV providers,” Amazon said in an email announcing the date to subscribers.
Danger. Streaming is becoming cable TV.
The company offers viewers to watch ad-free for $2.99 per month.
(Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post. Interim CEO Patty Stonesifer sits on Amazon's board.)
The company announced the change in September and said the ads would roll out in the US, UK, Germany and Canada in early 2024. These countries would be followed later in the year by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia.
How much does Prime Video cost without ads?
The service currently costs $9 per month, so the ad-free version would probably cost around $12 per month. However, the video service is included with an Amazon Prime subscription that includes the company's two-day shipping deals for $15 per month or $139 per year. It's not clear how pricing will work in other countries.
Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Peacock and Max sell subscriptions with advertising, the Washington Post reported. The offers are much lower than the ad-free versions. Netflix with ads costs $6.99 per month in the US, while the cheapest monthly Netflix subscription without ads costs more than twice as much at $15.49.
How can I cancel Prime Video?
According to Amazon, subscribers can cancel their Prime Video subscription by navigating to “Manage your Prime membership.”