Prime Video informed its Prime Members today about an update that is going to change their viewing experience. This update says that from 17th June, 2025 onwards Prime Video movies and TV shows will be laced with what they call “limited advertisements”.
Apparently, Prime Video needs more funds to continue “investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time”.
The announcement aligns with Amazon’s global strategy to boost revenue through advertising, following similar rollouts in the US, UK, and other markets. Moreover, the streamer specifically mentions that they are going to aim for “meaningfully fewer ads” than what we see on TV or other streaming services for that matter. On what parameter are they going to compare this remains unknown!
Well, the subscribers don’t need to do anything in this regard and can continue as usual without any change in the current prices of their Prime membership but (there’s always a BUT!) if you need to go ad free you can buy their new add-on at ₹699 per year/ ₹129 per month.
This whole move by Prime Video is not going down well with the customers and has triggered a widespread backlash (while also reminding them of an episode from Netflix’s ’Black Mirror’). People find it absolutely ridiculous and for all the right reasons.
Prime Video’s existing subscription plans range from ₹799 for Prime Lite to ₹1,499 annually for full Prime membership and that should be fairly enough to guarantee an ad-free experience. Adding more charges to go ad-free is simply greedy as noted by the users.
Prime Video members already find it unfair to have to pay rent for movies after having paid for subscription. Now this ad version comes nothing but as an irritating way to dig deeper into pockets of the price sensitive Indian user base who feels this is a double charge.
This advertisement supported version of Prime Video is going to have repercussions and alienating its subscriber base is one among them. What’s more concerning though is people resorting to piracy, not just because of this specific action by Prime Video (although definitely furled by it) but reflecting a broader discontent with streaming services who repeatedly increase costs or alter terms. And we all know how piracy is the worst for entertainment industry.
In Indian OTT space where the subscription growth has gone stagnant with only around 100 million active paid subscribers out of the estimated 547 million OTT users, this ad-supported model is going to be a risky gamble for Prime Video. And while the streaming giant might think it is pre-informing the customers about it all, the lack of transparency about the ad frequency and placement has left users skeptical and frustrated.
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