Amazon Prime video shows and movies will have ads for users in India from next year onwards, as confirmed by the company this week. The ad-riddled scheme seems to have worked for platforms like Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix so it was inevitable that Amazon joins the queue with its own ad-free tier along with the regular Prime membership plans.
Basically, Amazon Prime video users will start seeing more ads between their movies and shows. The platform doesn’t say when the change will happen but it will inform the customers about the new additions via an email before the roll out is official. But if you are not keen to see these ads from 2025, Amazon will bring an ad-free plan that is likely to cost higher and its details will be revealed at a later date.
Streaming platforms started with focus on ad-free content to rival and eventually dethrone TV services. But as years have gone by, their push for ads to monetise the content feels like a complete 360-degree which makes them less appealing to the consumers. You also have various measures like password-sharing restrictions, which means more people are forced to spend on the services.
So, if you practically calculate the amount of money being spent on various streaming apps, the cost will be far higher than people used to spend for cable TV and it seems the future might be heading much closer to our past than we ever imagined. Having said that, it is not all doom and gloom for the Prime subscribers in India, as the company as no plans to hike the current Prime membership prices in the country.
We’re eager to see how these platforms decide to price their ad-free plans, something that Netflix already offers in the US but has decided against bringing it to the Indian market so far which could also change once its rivals open the floodgates for such offerings next year.
