Amazon is to introduce advertisements on its Prime Video service from next year, the retail giant has said.Prime Video said the move was necessary to “continue investing in compelling content” and to “keep increasing that investment over a long period of time”, pointing to spending on shows such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.Ads in Prime Video content will be introduced in the US, UK, Germany and Canada in early 2024, followed by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia later in the year.In the US, subscribers will be able to pay an extra $2.99 per month for an advertising-free service, but the retailer said it would be making no changes to the current price of Prime membership in 2024.Details of pricing in other countries has not yet been revealed.In a blog post confirming the news, Amazon wrote that it had been “investing heavily” in Prime Video, which offers movies, acquired and original shows, and live sports.“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,” it said.The retailer “aims to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers,” it continued, but no further details were revealed.Prime Video is behind originals such as the The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is widely considered to be among the most expensive shows ever produced.Its output also includes The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Citadel and The Wheel of Time, while exclusive live sports including NFL Thursday Night Football and access to Prime Video Channels is also available.It is unclear if the introduction of ads into Prime Video content will impact Amazon’s other ad-supported service, Freevee. It has been quick to adapt to the shift of eyeballs to AVOD, moving into original programming such as the recent revival of Australian soap Neighbours. The retailer also operates ad-supported gaming site Twitch.Prime Video is also joining its major streaming rivals in allowing ads in content, following similar action by Disney+, Max and Netflix, which are all looking to ramp up revenues from their services.The industry has long looked at Prime Video in a different way to pure play streamers such as Netflix, with the Amazon service offering a raft of other benefits – namely free shipping – alongside the video content.The addition of advertising, however, suggests that further revenue is being demanded as the streamer expands its output.Amazon has also been restructuring its Prime Video team in Europe over the past year, with Amazon Studios UK & Northern Europe chief Dan Grabiner departing earlier this month.Other execs to have left over the past 12 months include Amazon Studios’ former Europe chief, Georgia Brown, while there was a rejig of Martin Backlund’s remit, who moved from being head of content in the UK for Prime Video to become MD of the company’s Nordic arm.
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