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Amazon is considering pushing more ads on Prime Video users, despite customers already paying monthly fees for the streaming service.
The billion-dollar company has reportedly been exploring options for new “ad levels” in recent weeks, meaning members may have to watch monotonous ads while watching TV shows or movies.
This could look like all Prime subscribers have to watch ads and offer the option to “pay more” for an ad-free alternative.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the platform is trying to imitate its competitors, such as Netflix and Disney+, who have introduced cheaper ad-supported memberships.
According to industry insiders, Amazon Prime could add more commercial content to its streaming service, despite users already paying a monthly fee
Amazon already has an ad-supported TV service available on Prime Video called Freevee, which is integrated into the Prime home screen, but the commercial content would extend to other parts of the platform.
In addition, Prime – with more than 20,000 movies and 2,000 television shows – also hosts content from other networks, including some commercials.
Sports fans will already be familiar with the commercial content of the talks, as sports coverage on Prime is the only part of the platform that currently contains ads.
Amazon hasn’t officially confirmed the rumors, but industry insiders have said Prime subscribers would have the option to pay extra for ad-free shows and movies if the plans go ahead. The MailOnline has contacted Amazon for comment.
Insider Intelligence chief analyst Ross Benes said: “In recent years, Prime Video has become more aggressive in running pre-show promos and incorporating ad-laden sports broadcasts.
“By officially placing ads in Prime Video, Amazon can centralize its audience and be more consistent with branding.”
The rumors have not been well received by Amazon users and frustrated customers have taken to social media to complain about the service.
Prime Video and many of its competitors, such as Netflix and Disney+, may amp up the ads, but Amazon tends to be more expensive than these other streaming sites
Netflix has seen membership stagnation after implementing a crackdown on account sharing – the streaming platform will roll out this new feature within the next free months
One Twitter user said, “Why am I paying for Amazon Prime if it puts 300 metaverse ads in it when I put on a movie?”
Another claimed that the introduction of ads would “cause me to cancel.”
An Amazon Prime membership – which includes free shipping on the shopping site – currently costs £8.99.
But Amazon Prime isn’t the only offender. A host of other major streaming services, including Netflix and HBO Max, now offer ad-supported subscriptions.
Usually these services are cheaper ad-free, as a Netflix subscription starts at £4.99 but can go up to £15.99 for an ad-free subscription.
A Disney+ subscription also starts cheaper than the Amazon package at £7.99 per month.
It comes as streaming services across the board are grappling with financial losses as shares of Paramount Global fell six percent in trading.
Netflix has had a number of volatile years, in which the share sometimes plummeted by as much as 47 percent.
In the last quarter of 2022, the streaming giant saw its subscription base grow by a paltry 4 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.
The membership nuisance has been fueled by a crackdown on account sharing this year.
According to Netflix’s rules, people who don’t live in the same household can’t stream from the same account.
While this has always been a rule, the streaming platform is introducing a new device verification feature that allows viewers to prove where they’re watching from.
The new feature has yet to be rolled out in the US after a rollout in Spain and Canada led to a drop in subscriptions.
Still, account sharing is expected to be banned in the next three months, though no official date has been given.