Amazon is bringing more adverts to TV shows and movies on Prime Video in the UK.
Following the blockbuster launch of Clarkson's Farm season 3 on the streaming service, Amazon has unveiled a slew of new interactive advert formats that will be coming to millions of Prime Video subscribers.
The decision to introduce ad breaks to Prime Video without dropping the monthly subscription cost — in stark contrast to the approach taken by Netflix and Disney+ when they introduced ad-supported tiers — has already proven to be extremely controversial. Prime Video fans flooded social media with complaints.
Others were so infuriated, they launched a lawsuit against Amazon.
Three new types of adverts are set to be broadcast during your favourite Prime Video show. First up, Amazon will introduce interactive product carousels that let you buy items with a tap on your remote.
These carousels will surface while the advert is playing, but the moment you begin to scroll through the products, the advert will be paused. Amazon says this new format will allow viewers to "shop multiple product variations on Amazon during ad breaks in shows and films on Prime Video."
Amazon has optimised the software powering these carousels so it'll work with the TV remote, so you can add items to your basket with the tap of a button.
If you decide against making a purchase, the advert will resume playing before you can start watching your TV show episode, documentary, or film again.
The US retailer will also introduce adverts that appear whenever you pause the action on-screen.
This is something viewers will have experienced when watching shows on Channel 4 and ITVXin the UK. When the update rolls out to Prime Video subscribers, whenever you press pause on your living-room remote, you'll find a translucent advert pop-up, featuring brand messaging and imagery alongside shortcuts to “Add To Basket” and “Learn More”.
In a short video demo, Amazon shows how advertisers can list the product available on Amazon, choose the price that will appear on-screen, and roll-out an interactive shippable advertisement to its various streaming platforms, including Prime Video (APD), ad-supported FreeVee, and Twitch
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According to Amazon, "These ads extend the engagement opportunity beyond a traditional ad break, as the interactive overlay is available to customers for as long as the content is paused. With a click of their remote, customers can easily add the product to their Amazon basket, get more information sent to their email address, and resume their stream at any time."
The final new addition coming to Prime Video viewers will be so-called Interactive Brand Trivia Ads.
Rather than simply showing a 30-second or minute-long advert, similar to what you'd see on live television or before a YouTube video, Amazon wants you to interact with the advert. According to the shopping behemoth, these ads are designed to “entertain” you and "help advertisers elevate their storytelling".
It's unclear exactly what these adverts will involve, but Amazon has worked hard to ensure that you'll be able to use your existing TV remote — or the remote bundled with your Fire TV streaming set-top box — to interact with the advert on-screen to "learn more about services and products, and even unlock rewards." Like the other new advertisement formats coming to Prime Video, you'll be able to add products to your Amazon basket with a tap.
If you want to eliminate all of these new interactive ad formats, as well as the existing ad breaks, we've got detailed instructions on how to remove adverts from Prime Video.
“Amazon Ads continues to reimagine the streaming TV experience with interactive ad formats that are seamlessly shoppable and help advertisers meaningfully connect with customers”, said Alan Moss, Vice President of Global Ad Sales for Amazon Ads.
“We are developing innovative experiences to help brands better engage with customers, as we work to transform streaming advertising through our differentiated combination of reach, first-party signals and ad tech. Ads in Prime Video provide an unparalleled experience for advertisers to deliver on any full-funnel marketing objective – whether it’s awareness, consideration or conversion.”
Adverts will be included with Prime Video when you subscribe as part of the annual Amazon Prime membership, which costs £8.99 per month or £95 per year. As well as Prime Video, the membership bundles next-day delivery on thousands of items, unlimited photo back-up, music streaming, and Kindle ebooks.
If you want to stop adverts ruining your next boxset binge-watch or movie night, Amazon will remove all ad breaks for an extra £2.99 per month. This fee applies to those who have subscribed to Prime Video as a standalone subscription as well as Amazon Prime members.
It’s worth noting that paying the extra £2.99 fee will not remove promotional trailers for upcoming shows, documentaries, and films coming soon to Prime Video. However, unlike ad breaks, these trailers will never interrupt your content once it's started and can be skipped.
Anything watched on Amazon’s second streamer, known as FreeVee, will contain ad breaks. This service, which originally launched under the brand name IMDbTV, is completely ad-supported, so you won’t need a Prime Video or Amazon Prime account to watch.
Clarkson's Farm is one of the breakout hits on Prime Video, with the third season now availability in its entirety to stream across all the platforms
AMAZON STUDIOSSpeaking about the new interactive adverts on the way for millions of Prime Video viewers, Chief Investment Officer for Omnicom Media Group North America, Geoffrey Calabrese said: "Amazon’s engagement with consumers throughout the funnel is unique. With the ad innovations we are seeing from inside of their streaming offering, our clients are now able to test and learn at scale the true power of streaming TV."
There's no word on exactly when Prime Video subscribers can expect to see these new interactive adverts start to appear on televisions, iPhone, Android, iPad, and other devices compatible with the streaming service. However, the announcement of new ad formats was made in the United States, so we'd expect to see the three new advertisement types premiere over there, before making their way across the pond.
Amazon maintains that its streaming service, which competes directly with the likes of Netflix, Disney+, ITVX, and BBC iPlayer, will have “meaningfully fewer ads than ad-supported TV channels and other streaming TV providers.” If you don’t fancy watching adverts during your binge-watch of The Boys, Clarkson's Farm or The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon will let you go back to ad-free viewing for an extra £2.99 per month.
That’s an extra £35.88 every year.
@PrimeVideo Where is the cancel button. It's hiding somewhere on your web site. I'm not paying to watch those damn adverts. Period.
— buckfush (@buckfush) January 30, 2024
@AmazonHelp how do i get rid of the video side of prime, im not paying to watch adverts on content im streaming, netflix and disney dont do it and im not continuing with prime video because of adverts, and no im not paying more to get rid of them
— Weegy Wallop (@theblackwatch01) January 28, 2024
@PrimeVideo taking the p#ss. I subscribe so I can watch something without adverts, as there are too many on satellite. And now they will start showing ads, unless I pay more each year. Well that's one subscription I'm gonna cancel.
— Crypto_Consumer (@Crypto_Consmer) January 10, 2024
It's a shame but @AmazonUK has gone from the place I go to first to the place I go last.
— The Clandestine Sheep (@T_C_Sheep) January 8, 2024
A search function that won't find things even when given exact terms.
Customer service that don't give a damn.
Now adverts in prime video.
I doubt I'll resubscribe this year.
Hey @PrimeVideo so now now that you're showing adverts which I can pay £2.99 to avoid, how about you reduce my subscription by £2.99 as I chose to stream to avoid adverts in the first place! otherwise I'd watch the TV!! #MicDrop
— Paul (@thepaulius) January 6, 2024
Amazon has taken a very different approach to Disney+ and Netflix, which both offered lower-priced subscriptions with the introduction of adverts to the platform. Although watching ad-free costs more, existing customers were able to enjoy a similar viewing experience at the same price when the ad-supported plans launched.
Enraged fans have flooded social media to voice their frustration with the change to Prime Video.
One Prime Video subscriber posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Hey @PrimeVideo so now now that you're showing adverts which I can pay £2.99 to avoid, how about you reduce my subscription by £2.99 as I chose to stream to avoid adverts in the first place!"
"@PrimeVideo Where is the cancel button. It's hiding somewhere on your web site. I'm not paying to watch those damn adverts. Period." another added on the social media app.
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A number of users have pledged to cancel their Prime subscriptions at the next opportunity over the introduction of ad breaks to the streamer. One posted: "@PrimeVideo taking the p#ss. I subscribe so I can watch something without adverts, as there are too many on satellite. And now they will start showing ads, unless I pay more each year. Well that's one subscription I'm gonna cancel."
BAFTA-nominated Welsh actress Morfydd Clark stars as Galadriel in The Rings of Power, which is widely believed to be the most expensive TV series ever put to film
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The total cost of your Prime Video subscription depends on whether you’ve subscribed to the video streaming service for £5.99 per month, or whether you’re an Amazon Prime member, which includes Prime Video and other perks, for £8.99 per month.
As well as watching exclusive shows and films, Prime members enjoy unlimited next-day delivery across thousands of items, exclusive access to Lightning Deals and sales events like Prime Day, music streaming on Amazon Echo and other devices, unlimited cloud back-up for photos, and a rotating selection of Kindle ebooks and magazines to read at no extra cost.
Unlike a standalone Prime Video subscription, Amazon Prime is available as an annual plan. It costs £95 per year, which equates to roughly £7.91 per month ...although you’ll still need to add an extra £2.99 to that figure each month if you want to swerve the adverts.
Amazon says the introduction of ads will enable it to “continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.”
The online retailer, founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, has invested heavily in original content — including breaking records with the most expensive television show ever produced.
The Lord of the Rings prequel series The Rings Of Power cost a purported $465 million to film its eight-episode first season, which debuted in September 2022 on Prime Video. Amazon committed to a minimum of five seasons in its deal to acquire the rights from the Tolkien estate for roughly $250 million, sending the total cost spiralling over $1 billion.
For comparison, Game of Thrones cost around $100 million per season by the end of its run.
Amazon has also acquired film studio MGM for a rumoured $8.5 billion in 2022, strengthening its catalogue of movies, and snapped-up ex-Top Gear trio Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond after the BBC refused to renew Clarkson’s contract.
The deal resulted in The Grand Tour, a new motoring show that follows in the footsteps of Top Gear with chaotic challenges and road trips across the planet. All three presenters have also launched solo projects on Prime Video, including a travel series from James May andClarkson’s Farm, which was critically lauded for showing the plights of farmers in the UK.
Revenue from ad breaks is expected to bring in $2 billion by 2025, according to analysis by MoffettNathanson. Amazon has a second streaming service, known as Freevee, which is ad-supported and free to watch.
Freevee is home to a number of popular shows, including the high-profile return of Australian soap Neighbours: A New Chapter. It’s also the only place to stream comedy mockumentary Jury Duty, adaption of British book series Alex Rider, and adult animation Corner Gas, to name a few.
The arrival of adverts into Prime Video is part of a wide trend across the industry. Disney+ launched a more affordable ad-supported tier at the end of last year. Priced at £5.99 per month, it’s £2 cheaper than the previous one-size-fits-all ad-free subscription.
Netflix kickstarted the trend with the arrival of its first ad-supported tier in late 2022, which has surged in popularity following the streamer’s recent crackdown on password-sharing between friends and family members, it confirmed during its latest earnings call.
