One of the biggest and best streaming service in Australia, Amazon Prime Video is the latest to introduce advertisements to its content, and will begin rolling out from July 2, 2024. While Amazon claims these ads will be "limited", it very carefully states it will "aim" for its ad output to be "meaningfully fewer than linear TV and other streaming TV providers" – whether this means fewer in number or in length remains to be seen.
Prime Video is currently available as a benefit of being an Amazon Prime subscriber, which currently costs AU$9.99 per month – AU$79 for an annual subscription – and provides free and expedited delivery on a majority of Amazon stock. The AU$9.99p/m charge will remain the same for the ads-based Prime Video tier but, perhaps unsurprisingly, for those who wish to avoid ads hindering their watching, Amazon will be adding a new ad-free tier option for an extra AU$2.99 per month.
While this might feel like a catastrophic change both to your Prime Video subscription and to streaming services broadly, Amazon claims that this change will help them to not only "continue investing" in the high-quality content that you subscribe for, but be able to invest in it for the long haul. It’s a similar spiel to what we’ve heard from Netflix and Binge, two streaming services that have already introduced ads in Australia. We reckon it won’t be the last time we hear it either, since Disney Plus has introduced ads in the UK, so it’s likely only a matter of time before we get the same treatment Down Under.
Fortunately for Prime Video, there's plenty of compelling content like Fallout, Road House and The Idea of You, and much-anticipated returns of The Boys, The Test and The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power coming soon. More than that, just dropping today is a deal that allows you to watch the best from BritBox without subscribing.
Usually, BritBox itself is AU$9.99 as an add-on 'channel' through Prime Video or on its own. However, BritBox and Prime have come together to offer users a taste of BritBox for free until the 17th of June. Episodes included in this free tease are the first episodes of Obituary, Three Little Birds, Stonehouse, The Confessions of Frannie Langton, Six Four and A spy Among Friends, as well as the second episode The Cleaner season 2 – don't ask me why.
While you won't get more than a taste of each show, this allows you to try-out and find a show that's worth investing time into without paying extra. And hey, with a 30-day free trial available for Prime Video and a 7-day free trial available for BritBox, a binge master could find a show to love and watch it all before the trial ends.
Nevertheless, unless you want to pay more money, ads will be coming to Prime Video from July 2nd, so you'll have to enjoy your ad-free viewing while you still can. How they'll be introduced, how noticeable they'll be and whether or not they'll have a truly negative impact on viewing are all yet to be seen. One thing is for sure, though – Prime Video isn't the first, and it certainly won't be the last streaming service to add ads.
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