Prime Video Users Frustrated by Ads: ‘Won’t Be Using the Service’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Amazon Prime Video is no longer one of the only streaming services without ads.
The company added commercials to its content earlier this year, with the option to pay an extra $3 per month to remove them. Users are sharing their frustration.
“I just got a notice that I’ll now get ads in Amazon Prime. I can pay another $2.99 a month to avoid that. So the annual total would be $139 + 12x$2.99 = $174.88 plus tax 10.1% here,” one Reddit user said. “I’ve had prime forever, I think it was $69 at the time. I am thinking to cancel it. It may cut down on impulse buying from Amazon as well since we now have to get to $35 to get free shipping. Are others about to cancel?”
Movieguide® previously reported:
On Jan. 29, Prime Video will start to show ads with its service, with Prime users having the option to remove them for an additional $3 per month. This introduction will turn Prime Video into the world’s largest ad-supported streaming service, netting billions in revenue for the tech giant.
The introduction of an ad tier is not a new concept. Multiple streaming sites executed this shift with a high level of success. Ads have arguably saved the streaming industry by allowing sites to quickly and reliably generate the additional income needed to become profitable.
“I absolutely hate ads, so I won’t be using the service. To me, ads are an imposition that should not be inserted onto a paid platform. By accepting this, where will it end?” one person replied.
Another user commented on how much Amazon has raised its prices in the past few years.
“When Amazon Prime was $79.99 as late as 2017, it offered Prime Videos ad-free, Prime Music basic (on-demand), unlimited music cloud storage, unlimited photo and video cloud storage.
It’s now $140, and all of those are gone. Prime Video charges an extra for ad-free. Prime music basic is a radio-like playlist instead of on-demand. You have to pay extra for cloud storage. 100% not worth it,” the user wrote.
Other commenters weren’t as bothered by the change.
“If you pay for prime all at once each year it’s like 11 bucks a month…If you add the extra three bucks it’s $14 a month for a streaming service and that is way cheaper than Hulu or Netflix without ads,” another said, per The Sun.
According to Amazon, the change allows the company “to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time and so maintain the quality and quantity of content in Prime Video. We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.”
The change will also bring in an additional $3 billion for the platform.
“Morgan Stanley predicts the company will generate $3.3 billion in Prime Video ad revenue during 2024, rising to $5.2 billion in 2025 and a staggering $7.1 billion in 2026. Analysts from MoffettNathanson are less optimistic, forecasting $1.3 billion for 2024 and $2.3 billion for the following year. Either way, Amazon will take a lion’s share of profit through this simple change,” Movieguide® reported.
One user was so frustrated by the change that he filed a lawsuit against Amazon. Movieguide® reported:
A California resident has brought a class action suit against Amazon Prime for its “deceptive” plan to run ads in all Prime Video programming.
“Wilbert Napoleon, who brought forth the lawsuit in the interest of all Amazon Prime customers said they were led to believe by Amazon’s ‘false and misleading’ advertisements that they would have ‘ad-free access to tv shows and movies,’ according to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington state on Feb. 9,” USA Today reported.
“The change in terms, the lawsuit alleges, violates consumer protection laws in California and Washington which prohibits a company from engaging in ‘unfair’ or ‘deceptive’ business acts and practices,” USA Today said.
