In recent years, a notable trend in streaming has been the emergence of ad-supported tiers. Almost all major streaming platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and Max, now offer an ad-supported tier that typically costs a few dollars less than an ad-free one.

In early 2024, Amazon followed the lead of other streaming services and introduced ads on Prime Video, charging viewers $3 per month to opt out of them. Understandably, this upset many people who were already paying $15 a month for Amazon Prime, only to have multiple ad breaks during their TV show or movie.

One small silver lining Prime Video had with their initial implementation of ads is that they only had about two to three-and-a-half minutes of ads per hour, which meant they were less disruptive than some of the ads seen on other streaming services. However, that no longer seems to be the case.

According to Adweek, Amazon has quietly increased the number of ads on Prime Video, from two to three-and-a-half minutes per hour, to four to six minutes per hour. Adweek cites an email it obtained from an Amazon representative to an ad buyer, which says: “Prime Video ad load has gradually increased to four to six minutes per hour.”

So, if you’ve been noticing more ads on Prime Video lately, it’s entirely intentional, as it seems Amazon is trying to sell companies more ads to run on Prime Video.

Simultaneous streams

3

# of profiles

6

Originals

Yes

Live TV

Limited (some add-on channels offer live TV)

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Is Amazon trying to convince more people to go ad-free?

More ads will undoubtedly negatively impact the viewing experience

Amazon/Pocket-lint

Since Amazon introduced ads on Prime Video in 2024, I have largely resisted the urge to pay the $3 monthly fee to go ad-free. Most of the time, when I watched an hour-long show, I only got about three ads, and I didn’t mind it since it usually gave me a second to grab a drink or check my phone anyway, and they didn’t interrupt the viewing experience too badly. However, doubling that would easily ruin the experience.

Amazon has not publicly announced any plans to double ads for consumers. Still, Adweek reports that it told investors it would increase the inventory of ads available for sale on Prime Video to expand its streaming business further.

Adweek also spoke to Kendra Tang, a programmatic supervisor at Rain the Growth Agency, who said Amazon told them “the ad load would be increasing” and that it’s “been confirmed recently when we noticed more avails in the system.” In a statement from Amazon, it avoided saying whether it has increased its ad load, instead stating it’s focused on “improving ad experiences.”

“Our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown,” said an Amazon Ads spokesperson to Adweek. “While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown.”

The reason Amazon would increase the ad load is a two-pronged answer. One: to increase revenue and sell more ads to companies. Two: to convince more people to pay $3 for the ad-free option. Prime Video currently costs $9 a month on its own, or $15 a month if you have it included with Amazon Prime. Adding the ad-free tier, the service costs $12 a month without Prime and $18 a month with it.

For me and anyone else out there who regularly watches Prime Video, this simply sucks. It means that anything you watch on the service from Amazon will be interrupted by more ads, leading to more disruptions during important moments in what you’re watching.

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