Amazon’s Prime Video to Introduce Ads Beginning Early 2024
By Movieguide® Contributor
Amazon plans to join Netflix and Disney+ as the company announced it will begin running ads on its Prime Video service by early 2024.
The move will allow Amazon to “continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time,” the company explained.
Amazon’s spending on Prime Video content, including THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, rose 30% over 2022, likely accounting for the company’s need to rely on an additional source of income.
By introducing ads to its streaming service, Prime Video joins the majority of platforms that have made that change in recent years.
Netflix, Disney+ and Max recently introduced an ad-tier subscription, providing users cheaper access to their libraries in exchange for commercial breaks.
While the introduction of ads on these sites was controversial, given years of insistence that commercials would never be part of their business, ads have proven successful for all who have made the change.
Amazon’s addition of commercials may, however, prove more controversial as the current plan Prime Video plan, $14.99 per month, will receive the ads.
Viewers will have to pay an additional $2.99 per month on top of their current Amazon Prime subscription to continue to enjoy the service without ads.
With ad-tier subscriptions quickly becoming an industry standard, the streaming space is quickly resembling the cable business that it usurped. Industry experts believe that ads on the services will “become more prominent” as time goes on, leading to bigger ad loads and “more opportunities to squeeze in ad messaging along the way, especially if it is perceived as a cost saver for consumers.”
This major shift in business strategy has come as streaming services eschew their former goal of pushing subscriber growth in favor of profitability. However, given the number of players in the streaming sphere and the cost of creating and acquiring new content, this has proven difficult for all these platforms.
Movieguide® previously reported:
After years of uncontrolled growth, Netflix was hit with reality last year when they posted a loss in subscribers during Q1, the first time they had seen a drop in users in over a decade. Since then, the company has been restructuring itself to focus on maximizing profits, rather than subscribers.
The most notable change in the company came when Netflix announced they would be cracking down on password sharing in March of last year. This change came with the introduction of an ad-supported subscription tier, in an effort to provide a cheaper option for users who had previously been using someone else’s account. This crackdown has been tested by Netflix in multiple markets and is planned to be fully rolled out by June of this year.
The company, however, does not expect that the crackdown on password sharing will do much to increase its subscriber count; Netflix understands that it has all but saturated its subscriber numbers from its current markets, mainly the U.S. Thus, the company plans to broaden its original content, creating shows and movies for primarily international audiences to continue to boost its subscriber count.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
