Nope, there’s nothing wrong with your TV—that was an ad you just saw on Amazon Prime Video.
Like many of the big streaming services, Amazon Prime Video has rolled out an ad-supported tier, but it’s doing so a little differently.
Rather than raising prices and then giving you the chance to switch to a new, cheaper “with ads” tier, Amazon added commercials to its standard tier, and you must pay more to turn the ads off.
Read on for all the details about Amazon Prime Video with ads, plus how to nix the commercial breaks.
Amazon Prime Video with ads: Your questions, answered
When did ads arrive on Prime Video?
Previous to January 29, 2024, Prime Video content was almost completely ad-free (there were exceptions, which we’ll detail in a moment). As of now, however, the standard Amazon Prime Video plan comes with ads.
Amazon announced last September that ads would be coming to Prime Video, but it waited until December 2023 to reveal the exact date when ads would arrive.
How much does Prime Video with ads cost?
Prime Video with ads is included in Amazon Prime, which costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year.
Besides Prime Video with ads, Amazon Prime offers such benefits as free shipping for products purchased on Amazon, free Amazon Fresh grocery deliveries, Amazon Music, unlimited Amazon Photo storage, Prime Gaming, Prime Reading, and more.
Looked at another way, current Amazon Prime subscribers are now paying the same amount for Prime Video with ads as they previously did for ad-free Prime Video.
How can you turn off the ads on Prime Video?
I signed up for an annual Prime membership before Amazon announced that ads are coming to Prime Video. Will I be grandfathered into the new ad-free Prime Video? Or what about a refund?
Even if you signed up for an annual Prime membership before Amazon’s Prime Video with ads announcement, you’ll still have to pay $2.99 a month to upgrade to the ad-free version.
If that doesn’t sound fair, there are other Prime members who agree with you, and a class-action lawsuit is in the works.
Weren’t there already ads on Prime Video?
Yes, some Prime Video content already came with ads, namely Thursday Night Football and other live sporting events.
It’s worth noting that if you pony up for the ad-free version of Prime Video, you’ll still see commercial breaks during TNF and live sports.
Amazon also has its Freevee ad-supported streaming service; but strictly speaking, that’s not part of Prime Video.
Which countries will be getting Prime Video with ads?
Prime Video with ads launched in January 2024 in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada; France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Austria followed a few months later.
While Prime Video with ads is available in most of the U.S., there are a few U.S. territories where it hasn’t gone live yet, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
How many ads per hour is Prime Video showing?
Are there ads in streaming video content that you’ve rented or purchased on Amazon?
Nope, the commercials are only for streaming Prime Video titles, not for specific (streaming) TV shows or movies that you’ve purchased or rented on Amazon.
Does Prime Video with ads support 4K?
Yes, you can still stream Prime Video’s video catalog in 4K if you’re on the ad-supported version, and HDR is supported as well.
Does Prime Video with ads support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos?
Does Prime Video with ads allow downloads?
Yes, you can download Prime Videos for offline viewing even on the ad-supported tier.
Why are ads coming to Prime Video?
Updated on July 3, 2024 with new details and analysis.
