Amazon Prime Video will begin inserting ads into movies and TV shows, joining Netflix, Disney Plus, and most other major streaming services.

The company announced the plan today (September 22) in a blog post. They stated, "Starting in early 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertising in order to continue to invest in compelling content and to continue to grow that investment over time."

Commercials will first roll out in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany, with other countries to follow later in the year.

For an additional fee, Prime Video members will have access to an ad-free option. Currently, Prime Video is included free with Amazon Prime membership, which costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year. As a stand-alone service, it costs $8.99 per month. Members can eliminate ads for an additional $2.99 per month.

Amazon states that it aims to have "meaningfully fewer ads than Linear TV and other streaming TV providers."

Amazon already runs ads on some content, including the NFL's Thursday Night Football and the free streaming service Freevee.

Prime Video has original productions such as The Boys, The Summer I Came Clean, and The Lord of the Rings: The Lord of the Rings. The latter is one of the most expensive programs ever produced. In addition, Amazon spent heavily on the broadcast rights to Thursday Night Football; in 2022, Amazon's spending on content increased nearly 30% to $16.6 billion. Advertising would help offset these costs.

Amazon's move is not surprising, as rivals like Netflix and Disney Plus introduced ad-supported tiers last year; other streamers like Paramount Plus and Peacock have been running commercials from the start, and ad Only Apple TV Plus remains the last major streaming service without ads, but that may happen down the road. hired a digital video advertising executive.

The streaming industry has been in the doldrums for several years now, as subscriber growth has slowed and investors seek real returns. Netflix, Disney, Amazon, and other media companies are now implementing multiple ways to make their streaming services profitable.

The introduction of advertising is one such example. Netflix's crackdown on password sharing is one such example. The company reported an increase of 6 million subscribers after the crackdown. Disney Plus also plans to eventually limit account sharing.

Additionally, all major streaming services have raised prices over the past year. Disney Plus announced a price increase starting next month, and Peacock recently raised its rates for the first time. Cord cutting was supposed to be our cheap future, but having multiple streaming services is now comparable to a cable TV bill.