Amazon is bringing commercials to Prime Video and will seek to implement the plan in early 2024.
Per Variety, commercials will first appear on Prime Video in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany in early 2024. France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia will have the ad-tier option later the same year. Prime Video's ad-free option would still be available for an additional $2.99 per month in the U.S. on top of the annual subscription to Amazon's overall Prime service. Amazon intends to run fewer ads on Prime Video than traditional broadcasters or broadband rivals, with four minutes per hour being the reference for the lowest ad time recorded on a streaming platform.
Prime Video, the streaming home of hit series such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, is the latest streaming service to offer an ad-supported tier on its platform after Disney+, Netflix, and Warner Bros. Discovery's Max. Amazon insists the ability to run commercials during Prime Video selections would help the company "continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time."
Amazon has made significant investments in producing shows like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time, as well as acquiring the rights to NFL's Thursday Night Football. The ad-supported tier would add an extra income stream to the streaming giant. The addition of advertisements to streaming platforms has led many industry observers, including CEO of Vertere Group Tim Hanlon, to believe that the future of streaming will soon mirror the world of traditional television with all the attendant benefits and downsides. "The TV industry has really never been able to truly control itself when it comes to aggressive monetization," Hanlon said.
Amazon is Optimistic About More Spin-offs For The Boys
Amazon executive Vernon Sanders has hinted that the upcoming The Boys spin-off Gen V will not be the last fans see from the franchise, revealing that he and showrunner Eric Kripke have had conversations to that effect, "I will say this: Eric has had a vision for what this all leads to for years now, and we've been in an ongoing conversation about what comes next," he said. "So, it's probably premature to talk about that beyond saying we believe in Eric, and if Eric is interested in continuing the story, we'll be the first ones in line to really work with him on what that is."
Gen V premieres on Prime Video on September 29, 2023.
Source: Variety