Amazon is reportedly planning an ad-supported tier for Prime Video
Amazon may be joining Netflix and others in offering an ad-supported tier.
Amazon is reportedly planning to introduce an ad-supported tier to its Prime Video platform. The Wall Street Journal reports that discussions are in the early stages and have been going on for the past several weeks.
The report goes on to say that advertisers are eager for Amazon to jump on board, as other players such as Netflix, have recently added an ad-supported option to their lineup. Services such as Hulu, Max and Peacock have had ad-supported options since the beginning. WSJ says that ad buyers "want more access to premium movies and programs that have remained largely ad free, content that often garners more buzz."
Amazon has already made moves in the past to bring more ad-supported programming to the platform. Some of its shows have product-placement based ads and its sports programming comes with advertising. Amazon is also reportedly in talks with Warner Bros, Discovery and Paramount to include ad-supported subscriptions through Prime Video Channels. Users can currently use Amazon’s Channel feature to subscribe to a whole host of streaming services, which include ad-free versions of Paramount+ and Max.
Amazon Prime Video is currently $8.99 per month on its own or as part of an Amazon Prime membership. In comparison, Netflix’s Standard plan runs you $9.99 per month, which unlocks HD video, two screens at a time and offline downloading. The company’s ad-supported tier is $6.99 per month and strips away offline downloading. It’s unclear when Amazon plans on introducing this ad-supported plan or what pricing may look like, but it should help lower the cost for those looking to subscribe to Amazon Prime Video and don’t mind ads.
