Movies and series on Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming platform, will have advertising in the middle. At least, for subscribers in the United States. Ads will start running this Monday (29th).
For those in a hurry:
Subscribers who wish to watch titles in the catalog without intermediate advertising will have to pay an additional US$2.99 (approximately R$15, in direct conversion) per month.
The streaming platform communicated the change to its customers via email in December. Check out what the message said below:
We wrote to you today about a change to your Prime Video experience. Starting January 29, movies and TV shows will include limited ads. This will allow us to continue investing in engaging content and increase that investment over time. Our goal is to have significantly fewer ads than linear TV [a ‘tradicional’] and other streaming TV providers.
Ads on Prime Video
According to Wall Street Journal, the average ad load per hour is expected to be between two and three and a half minutes, which is much lower than that of traditional television and most other streaming services. Some commercials appeared before a program began airing, while others interrupted it.
Now the five largest streaming platforms in the US have ads. Amazon followed in the footsteps of Netflix, Disney+, Max (still HBO Max in Brazil) and Paramount+, which introduced advertising in recent years. The platforms initially offered an alternative to cable TV. But when the scenario became more competitive, everyone turned to (even more) commercialized business models.
In the case of Amazon, an important detail: the company determines the “level” with advertising as the standard. Most competitors have introduced advertising more subtly, with cheaper plans, as Netflix has done.
Subscription models for streaming services didn’t last long. There are those who say that the golden age of streaming is over (and it was expensive). “There has been a strong legacy of anti-advertising stance at the company,” Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said in an interview with Strategy.
Now the platforms have advertising because they are giants that cannot grow any further. So they have to generate more revenue some other way, which means introducing advertising and raising prices, like Prime Video does in the US. And others have already done it.
The post Prime Video is running ads starting this Monday in the US appeared first on Olhar Digital.
Source: Olhar Digital
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
