Amazon Prime Video Will Start Showing Ads Next Month and Customers Are Furious
Amazon Prime Video customers will soon have to pay an extra fee if they don't want to see ads while watching TV shows and movies.
Which streamers offer ad-free content for cheaper than Prime Video?
Amazon Prime Video is not the first streaming service to raise subscription rates and push ads upon customers. Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix and Paramount+ all include ads on their cheapest subscription tiers. Amazon first announced that it would incorporate ads for all users in September, but that doesn't make it any easier for customers to hear the official start date now.
The Streamable reports that in the past year, streaming plans without ads have gotten 25% more expensive across the industry, which leaves few options for customers who want to pay less than $11.99 per month to stream without the annoyance of ads. Only Apple TV+ offers a less expensive plan without ads at $9.99 per month – and that platform has one of the smallest streaming libraries in the industry.
prevnextAmazon Prime Video customers are not happy
Amazon Prime is being ridiculous. I already pay the monthly subscription and have to pay extra to view certain movies and on top of that it’s extra for ad-free? Netflix ain’t the only ones bugging.
— Cloud (@OnClaudeN9ne) December 27, 2023
Customers were not happy to hear the news, to say the least, with many taking to Twitter to air their frustrations. "I already pay them $140 a year for Prime. This is just greed," one user wrote. "I'm sick of platforms ruining our experiences with ads," someone else said.
prevnextSome customers are canceling subscriptions
Seriously? @PrimeVideo gotta be honest with you guys, this may be the last straw with Amazon. An added fee to keep from getting ads despite being a Prime member for years. @amazon’s quality of service and product has been going downhill. All while you keep raising the Prime… pic.twitter.com/OX9CvUSxNR
— Chris Hohnholz (@ChrisHohnholz) December 27, 2023
Others wrote that they were considering canceling their subscriptions over the announcements. "I have been on the verge of canceling Prime anyway once my student discount ends and this seals the deal," one customer wrote.
prevnext"What an insult!"
Ho ho ho, @amazon I am not just cancelling Prime video but am cancelling Amazon Prime outright. What an insult! pic.twitter.com/9p2gKDnQL8
— ib (@Indian_Bronson) December 27, 2023
"This is ridiculous. It IS a price increase if we want to maintain the state of our current service," someone else pointed out.
prevnext"The pivot back to traditional cable"
The pivot back to traditional cable is coming.
What’s the point of Amazon’s Freevee platform? They have ads too. 🤷🏽♀️
Prime Video isn’t that great or memorable. https://t.co/vpSVRphEQr
— Monet (@SocialMonet) December 26, 2023
"So, in aggregate, we are all paying much more than we used to just for cable and have to endure more ads," one fed-up customer wrote. "We've all been scammed."
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