Amazon says it will launch a new ad-free subscription, but the company is yet to reveal how much it will cost in India.
Amazon Prime Video will start to show ads to subscribers in India starting in 2025, according to the company. Advertisements on Prime Video were previously introduced in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the UK, the US, and a few European countries, and Amazon Prime members in India will soon see ads while watching content on the e-commerce giant’s streaming platform. Customers who do not want to see ads will have to purchase a more expensive subscription that will be launched in the future.
Amazon Prime Video to Introduce Ads in India Starting in 2025
In a recent update posted to its website, Amazon said that it would introduce “limited” ads on Prime Video in India starting in 2025. The company said that advertisements will let it invest in content for the video streaming platform and “keep increasing that investment over a long period of time”. These ads will be shown when users are watching Prime Video shows and movies.
The company claims that Prime Video will show "meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming providers". In India, streaming providers like Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar offer ad-supported and more expensive ad-free plans. Amazon also offers customers a Prime Lite subscription that offers access to Prime Video content at 720p resolution with ads.
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Customers who don't want to see any ads while watching content will have to opt for a new ad-free subscription option for Prime Video, which could arrive as an add-on to the annual Amazon Prime membership fee that is priced at Rs. 1,499 and includes access to Prime Video. The company says this price will not change in 2025, and it will reveal the cost of the new ad-free subscription plan in the future.
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While there's no word on when ads will be introduced on Prime Video in India next year, Amazon says that it will inform Prime members "several weeks" in advance, along with details of the upcoming ad-free subscription and how to sign up for it. The change will affect Amazon Prime members, while Prime Lite subscribers, who already see ads on the streaming service will not be impacted.