If you're a fan of Prime Video in Australia for its ad-free streaming, prepare to have your bubble burst: Starting July 2nd, 2024, the e-commerce giant's streamer will begin rolling out ads on its 'basic' monthly Prime membership plan.
In an email sent out to Prime Video subscribers earlier today, the streamer noted that its content catalogue will "include limited advertisements", which will allow the platform to "continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time".
Unlike other streamers with ad-supported plans — namely Netflix, Binge and soon, Paramount Plus in June — Prime Video alleges that it aims "to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers". Given that Netflix's Basic plan delivers up to 5 minutes of ads per hour, we can reasonably anticipate that Prime Video's ad serving will be similar to or slightly less than that.
The email also noted that there will be a new ad-free option introduced for an additional AU$2.99p/m, which current subscribers can sign up for on the Amazon website. The additional fee, however, would only benefit Prime Video subscribers, as the platform says there will be no other changes made to Prime memberships.
Prime Video's global rollout of ad-supported plans
Earlier this year, Prime Video began its rollout of ads in other regions, including the US and Canada. Amazon was even sued over the price hike, with one customer alleging that they started receiving ads halfway through their yearly subscription, which was originally marketed as being ad-free.
There is currently no confirmation on whether the streamer will introduce a yearly offering to Aussie subscribers yet, but we can speculate that Amazon will likely want to avoid any more hot water when it comes to Prime Video.
Intriguingly, the service isn't using the same strategy as other platforms in decreasing monthly costs for an ad-supported tier. Netflix's current ad-supported plan is priced at AU$6.99p/m — which is the cheapest streaming service available in Australia — so we're surprised that Amazon isn't discounting the original service and offering that as an option instead.
While US viewers have seen the brunt of terrible Amazon ads, we're hopeful that the streamer will take a different approach with Aussie consumers. With such an extensive library of shows, movies and documentaries, it will be interesting to see whether Aussies will fork out the extra dosh per month to keep Prime Video ad-free. Of course, we will keep you updated come July, but until then, let's hope for the best, shall we?
