SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - E-commerce giant Amazon's (AMZN) Prime Video has started streaming limited ads alongside its shows and movies to U.S. subscribers from Monday.
To get rid of the commercials, the subscribers are asked to pay an additional $2.99 per month, in addition to the current plan of $14.99 per month, or $139 annually.
Last year, Amazon informed the decision in a mail stating, 'This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.' It added that, 'We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.'
According to a recent Morgan Stanley report, Amazon would generate more than $3 billion in additional revenue this year through ads, which would surge to around $7 billion in 2026.
The company claims that the ad duration would be between two and three-and-half minutes, which is shorter than the commercials on linear TV and other streaming TV providers. Some ads would be played before the shows, while some would be played in-between the shows.
Further, the tech giant said that the ads would be introduced in the UK and Germany on February 5 and in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later this year.
In a bid to increase profitability, other streaming platforms had also introduced commercials or hiked their subscription charges in the past.
Netflix had increased its premium ad-free plan in the U.S. by $3 per month, to $22.99, whereas Dinsneyplus increased its ad-free plan to $13.99.
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