Amazon Prime Video content to start including ads next year

Amazon is set to introduce adverts to its Prime Video streaming service in 2024 as it
seeks to put more cash into creating TV shows and �ilms. UK Prime customers, along with those
in the US, Germany and Canada, will see ads early next year unless they subscribe for an "ad-
free" option at an additional cost. In a statement, Amazon said Prime Video still offered "very
compelling value". It follows similar moves by rivals including Disney+ and Net�lix.Amazon said
that the ads would be introduced across France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia later in 2024.

It will roll out the "ad-free" subscription tier for an extra $2.99 (£2.44) per month for
Prime subscribers in the United States. Pricing for other countries will be announced at a later
date, Amazon said. At the moment, a Prime subscription, which includes free one-day delivery
on goods as well as access to its streaming service, costs £8.99 per month, or £95 a year, in the
UK.
"To continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over
a long period of time, starting in 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited
advertisements in the UK,"
Amazon said. But in the wake of similar announcements by other streaming companies,
customers have expressed their disappointment. Disney+ expanded its ad-supported service
to the UK in August, while Net�lix introduced its "basic with ads" streaming plan last year. It
marked a massive change for Net�lix, which pioneered the world of ad-free, subscription-based,
streaming.
Analyst Hanna Kahlert at Midia Research said many people do not like the idea of
adverts on services they have already paid for - though some accept the practice if it makes the
streaming plan cheaper.

But she said Amazon has the power to make the change without fearing a wave of
cancellations, since streaming is just one part of the Prime package. "The competition is not
like-for-like," she said. "Audiences are not just making the decision to subscribe because of its
content or viewer experience in video, but rather a whole host of convenience factors... Ads or
no ads, Amazon still wins on convenience, with its content arguably a bonus."

In its announcement on Friday, Amazon said that it would aim "to have meaningfully
fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers". The company said it would get in
touch with Prime members a few weeks before ads are introduced to show how to sign-up for
the ad-free option if they wish to. Live event broadcasts, like sports matches, will still include
adverts even for those who sign up to the ad-free option.

Data previously released by analysts Kantar showed that people cut back on video
streaming services in their droves last year as they sought out different ways to deal with the
spike in the cost of living.

It found that the number of paid-for video streaming subscriptions in the UK fell by two
million, from 30.5 million to 28.5 million. Although demand picked up around Christmas,
Kantar said, people quickly looked to cut back again afterwards.Insider Intelligence senior
analyst Max Willens said ad-supported tiers have become standard in the streaming industry,

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setting the stage for Amazon's move. "It is slightly unusual for Amazon, which relentlessly
positions itself as a customer-�irst company, to degrade a service it offers those customers,
especially a service whose price has risen 75% since it was �irst introduced, but this feels
unsurprising," he said.

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 Fill in the Blank With Appropriate Meaning!

1. Adverts :
2. Streaming :
3. Afterwards :
4. Practice :
5. Convenience :
6. Arguably :
7. Cancellations :
8. Fearing :
9. Degrade :
10. Risen :
11. Disappointment:
12. Similar :
13. Pioneered :
14. Ad-free :
15. Early :
16. Unless :
17. Unsurprising :
18. Relentlessly :
19. Compelling :
20. Seek to :

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