Amazon's Prime Video Starts Showing Ads

Here's why you're seeing ads on Amazon Prime Video — and how much it costs to go ad-free.

By Cameron Bonomolo

Prime Video subscribers will see something new when streaming on the platform: ads. In September, Amazon's streaming service announced plans to introduce "limited advertisements" in its Prime Video TV shows and movies. Amazon also announced it would launch its new ad-free option priced at an additional $2.99 per month for U.S. Prime members (bringing the monthly price to $17.98/month for subscribers who opted into the add-on). Starting January 29, subscribers are being notified of changes to Prime Video with a pop-up that reads: "Movies and TV shows included with Prime now have limited ads. You can upgrade to ad free for $2.99/month." 

"To continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time, starting in early 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertisements," Amazon said last year, adding Prime Video aims to have "meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers."

Ads in Prime Video content are rolling out this week in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada, and will be followed by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in the year, according to Amazon. The company also said no action is required for Prime members and that it's not making changes in 2024 to the current price of Prime membership ($14.99/month), but upgrading to ad-free Prime Video will bring your monthly cost to the $17.98 price. (Currently, Prime Video membership without other Prime benefits is $8.99 per month; $11.98 without ads.)

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U.S. subscribers can upgrade to the ad-free Prime Video plan by accessing their account settings and then selecting "Go Ad Free" to begin their Ad Free subscription. According to Amazon: "Once your subscription has started, you'll no longer see advertisements while streaming on-demand movies and TV shows from Prime. This applies to all Prime Video profiles that have been linked to your Amazon account. Some titles will include promotional trailers that run before a movie or TV show. These trailers can be skipped but can't be removed with Prime Video Ad Free." 

Prime Video is the latest streamer to include ads: Paramount+, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, and Max all offer both ad-supported and ad-free plans. Subscribers of either tier will continue to have access to Prime Video exclusives like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Boys, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Citadel, The Wheel of Time, Reacher, Invincible, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

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