In order to invest more money in producing TV episodes and movies, Amazon plans to add advertisements to its Prime Video streaming service in 2024.
Customers of UK Prime, as well as those in the US, Germany, and Canada, will begin to see advertisements in early 2019 unless they pay an additional fee to subscribe to a "ad-free" option.
Amazon claimed in a statement that Prime Video still provided "very compelling value".
It is in line with similar moves made by competitors like Disney+ and Netflix.
According to Amazon, the advertisements will start running in 2024 in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia.
The "ad-free" subscription option will be made available to US Prime members for an additional $2.99 per month.
Pricing for additional nations will be revealed at a later time, according to Amazon.
Currently, a Prime membership in the UK costs £8.99 per month, or £95 per year. This includes access to its streaming service as well as free one-day delivery on goods.
"To continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time, starting in 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertisements in the UK," Amazon said.
Customers have expressed their dissatisfaction in the aftermath of similar announcements made by other streaming businesses, too.
While Netflix launched its "basic with ads" streaming option last year, Disney+ just expanded its ad-supported service to the UK.
For Netflix, which helped create the world of ad-free, subscription-based streaming, it represented a significant shift.
Many individuals, according to Midia Research analyst Hanna Kahlert, dislike the idea of seeing advertisements for services they have already paid for, though some may be willing to put up with it if it makes the streaming plan more affordable.
She did, however, note that since streaming is only one component of the Prime package, Amazon has the authority to make the move without worrying about a wave of cancellations.
"The competition is not like-for-like," she said. "Audiences are not just making the decision to subscribe because of its content or viewer experience in video, but rather a whole host of convenience factors... Ads or no ads, Amazon still wins on convenience, with its content arguably a bonus."
Amazon stated that it would strive "to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers" in its statement on Friday.
The business promised to contact Prime members a few weeks before commercials are introduced to let them know how to join up for the ad-free option if they so choose.
Even for individuals who choose the ad-free option, live event broadcasts, such as sports games, will still feature advertisements.
According to data previously made public by the analysts Kantar, customers drastically reduced their use of video streaming services last year as they looked for alternative ways to cope with the rise in living expenses.
It was discovered that from 30.5 million to 28.5 million, there were fewer people in the UK with paid subscriptions for video streaming.
Although demand increased during Christmas, according to Kantar, customers immediately began to make cuts afterward.
Ad-supported tiers have, according to Insider Intelligence senior analyst Max Willens, become the norm in the streaming sector, paving the way for Amazon's decision.
"It is slightly unusual for Amazon, which relentlessly positions itself as a customer-first company, to degrade a service it offers those customers, especially a service whose price has risen 75% since it was first introduced, but this feels unsurprising," he said.
(Source:www.techcrunch.com)
Customers of UK Prime, as well as those in the US, Germany, and Canada, will begin to see advertisements in early 2019 unless they pay an additional fee to subscribe to a "ad-free" option.
Amazon claimed in a statement that Prime Video still provided "very compelling value".
It is in line with similar moves made by competitors like Disney+ and Netflix.
According to Amazon, the advertisements will start running in 2024 in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia.
The "ad-free" subscription option will be made available to US Prime members for an additional $2.99 per month.
Pricing for additional nations will be revealed at a later time, according to Amazon.
Currently, a Prime membership in the UK costs £8.99 per month, or £95 per year. This includes access to its streaming service as well as free one-day delivery on goods.
"To continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time, starting in 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertisements in the UK," Amazon said.
Customers have expressed their dissatisfaction in the aftermath of similar announcements made by other streaming businesses, too.
While Netflix launched its "basic with ads" streaming option last year, Disney+ just expanded its ad-supported service to the UK.
For Netflix, which helped create the world of ad-free, subscription-based streaming, it represented a significant shift.
Many individuals, according to Midia Research analyst Hanna Kahlert, dislike the idea of seeing advertisements for services they have already paid for, though some may be willing to put up with it if it makes the streaming plan more affordable.
She did, however, note that since streaming is only one component of the Prime package, Amazon has the authority to make the move without worrying about a wave of cancellations.
"The competition is not like-for-like," she said. "Audiences are not just making the decision to subscribe because of its content or viewer experience in video, but rather a whole host of convenience factors... Ads or no ads, Amazon still wins on convenience, with its content arguably a bonus."
Amazon stated that it would strive "to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers" in its statement on Friday.
The business promised to contact Prime members a few weeks before commercials are introduced to let them know how to join up for the ad-free option if they so choose.
Even for individuals who choose the ad-free option, live event broadcasts, such as sports games, will still feature advertisements.
According to data previously made public by the analysts Kantar, customers drastically reduced their use of video streaming services last year as they looked for alternative ways to cope with the rise in living expenses.
It was discovered that from 30.5 million to 28.5 million, there were fewer people in the UK with paid subscriptions for video streaming.
Although demand increased during Christmas, according to Kantar, customers immediately began to make cuts afterward.
Ad-supported tiers have, according to Insider Intelligence senior analyst Max Willens, become the norm in the streaming sector, paving the way for Amazon's decision.
"It is slightly unusual for Amazon, which relentlessly positions itself as a customer-first company, to degrade a service it offers those customers, especially a service whose price has risen 75% since it was first introduced, but this feels unsurprising," he said.
(Source:www.techcrunch.com)
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