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Miami Herald
14-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Amazon Prime quietly makes controversial change to beloved service
Over the past few years, Amazon Prime, which currently costs $14.99 a month, has seen rapid growth in U.S. subscribers. The subscription service, which offers Amazon (AMZN) customers access to exclusive benefits such as free shipping, one-day delivery, Prime Day discounts, and a free Grubhub+ membership, reached roughly 180.1 million U.S. subscribers last year, which is about 44% higher than number of U.S. subscribers it had in 2017, according to data from Statista. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Amazon Prime is projected to reach 185 million U.S. subscribers this year as the service continues to see increased momentum from consumers. Related: Amazon faces another major boycott threat from consumers In Amazon's first-quarter earnings report for 2025, it revealed that it generated $11.7 billion in revenue from its subscription services (including income earned from Amazon Prime membership fees), which is almost 2% higher than what it earned during the same quarter last year. As Amazon Prime becomes more popular, its Prime Video service has quietly undergone a controversial change that will help increase the retail giant's revenue, and customers may not like it. Amazon Prime Video ads have gradually been elongated to last four to six minutes per hour, according to a new report from Adweek. When ads were first introduced to the platform last year, they only lasted two to three-and-a-half minutes per hour. Amazon recently confirmed this change to ad buyers, who are curious about how this will impact the platform's performance. Related: Paramount makes drastic decision amid shift in customer behavior "They told us the ad load would be increasing," said Kendra Tang, a programmatic supervisor at Rain the Growth Agency, while speaking to Adweek. "That's been confirmed recently when we noticed more avails in the system." When Amazon Prime introduced ads to its platform in January last year, it claimed in an email to customers that it aims "to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers," so this change comes as a surprise. In a statement to TheStreet, an Amazon spokesperson said the company is focused on improving the customer experience on Prime Video. "We remain focused on prioritizing ad innovation over volume," said the Amazon spokesperson. "While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown." The recent news of longer ads on Prime Video is making some customers reconsider their subscriptions. "My Prime account is up for renewal in August. I will definitely be cancelling. Not only are the ads numerous, they are sometimes double in volume (loudness). I can't always hit the mute button fast enough," wrote one Amazon Prime user on Reddit. "Perfect, I was really hoping to finally cut myself off Prime Video, and this should do it," wrote another Amazon user on Reddit. More Retail: Costco quietly plans to offer a convenient service for customersT-Mobile pulls the plug on generous offer, angering customersKellogg sounds alarm on unexpected shift in customer behavior This doesn't come as a surprise, as Prime Video users have previously made it loud and clear on social media that they are not fans of ads on the platform, despite having the option to remove them for an extra $2.99 a month. Shortly after Amazon began rolling out ads on Prime Video, it was hit with a class-action lawsuit from a frustrated customer. The lawsuit accused Amazon of being "deceptive" and "unfair," violating state consumer protection laws, as it had advertised Prime Video as "commercial-free" for years. "To stream movies and tv shows without ads, Amazon customers must now pay an additional $2.99 per month," reads the lawsuit. "This is true even for people who purchased the yearly, ad-free subscription, and who are now mid-way through their subscription. This is not fair, because these subscribers already paid for the ad-free version; these subscribers should not have to pay an additional $2.99/month for something that they already paid for." Related: Best Buy CEO raises red flag about startling customer behavior The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Tom's Guide
12-06-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Prime Video reportedly doubling the amount of ads you'll see — streaming just got a lot worse
Remember the streaming dream we were sold of unlimited ad-free movies and TV shows compared to the commercial-stuffed days of cable? I'm starting to feel like we bought a lemon, because it appears that Amazon's Prime Video has quietly increased the number of ads on its content. According to a report by Adweek, Prime Video has almost doubled the number of ads on its platform from three-and-a-half minutes per hour to six minutes of commercials in the average 60 minutes of watchtime. That's a big jump. The report sources conversations with ad buyers and documentation seen by Adweek, but has not been officially confirmed by Amazon. In the report, Kendra Tang, programmatic supervisor at Rain the Growth Agency, said, '[Amazon] told us the ad load would be increasing. That's been confirmed recently when we noticed more avails in the system.' I haven't noticed an uptick in the number of ads while streaming on Prime Video. However, this could be due to a slower rollout, or it may be region-specific, with the U.S experiencing a higher frequency and places like the U.K., where I live, spared from what is effectively a user-experience downgrade. Prime Video introduced ads to its previously ad-free platform in January 2024. Rather than creating a cheaper ad-supported plan like some rival services, Amazon opted to include ads on its standard tier and offer users the option of paying an additional $2.99 a month to remove them. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The majority of the best streaming services now run ads on at least one of their tiers, including Netflix, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount Plus. Free streaming services like Tubi also use ads, but in those cases, it feels like a fair trade-off considering you're getting access to loads of movies and shows without paying a cent. Coughing up a subscription fee and tolerating commercial breaks feels significantly less appealing, but this is now streaming in 2025. Currently, a Prime Video subscription costs $14.99 per month, or $139, though this is for the larger suite of benefits included with Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime: for $139/year @ AmazonAmazon Prime gives shoppers access to free shipping on over 100 million products. It also includes access to services like Prime Video and Prime Music. You can pay an annual $139 fee or choose a monthly plan at $14.99. These perks range from free shipping (on Amazon-sold items), and access to services such as Prime Gaming, Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Photos and Gruhhub Plus. It's certainly not a bad deal overall. Nevertheless, more ads on Prime Video are hardly welcome, and the cynic in me does have to wonder whether that six-minute per hour ratio will increase further in the months or years to come. If you're looking for something to watch on Prime Video, here's a guide to everything new on the service in June 2025. Unfortunately, you probably will have to tolerate more ads when watching any of these movies or TV shows.
