Why Are You Already Seeing Ads on Prime Video?
Streaming was originally introduced to us as a way to cut out the advertising on traditional cable TV: you pay a company like Netflix a certain amount per month and you can watch their content without interruption.
Now, of course, everything is different. Ad-free streaming is getting quite expensive, and prices are only continuing to rise. On top of that, companies are tightening up on password sharing rules , making it clear that if you want to stream on their platforms, you’ll have to pay for your own subscription.
This brings us back to advertising. In an age where you can no longer log into your parent’s Netflix and a traditional account costs too much, you can turn to a much cheaper ad-supported plan instead . Many services already offer this type of plan, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you remember life before streaming, when content was constantly interrupted by ads, then you might not mind signing up for an ad-supported plan, especially if it means significant savings along the way.
Amazon will launch advertising next year, but it’s already here
While services like Max, Netflix and Hulu already have ad-supported plans, others are already in the works. However, Amazon is taking a slightly different approach: the company plans to introduce advertising to its platform early next year, but by default for all Prime Video users . If you want to watch without ads, you’ll have to spend an extra $2.99 a month for a service that’s been free for all Prime members for years.
You also don’t have to wait until 2024 to see this approach in action. In fact, you may have already started a movie or show on Prime Video only to have your ad-free content interrupted by ads. As it turns out, there’s a reason for this, and it’s not because Amazon is testing its ad-supported platform early.
Freevee on Prime Video
If you see ads on Prime Video content in 2023, it’s because you’re actually watching Freevee content. Freevee (formerly IMDb TV) is an ad-supported streaming service owned by Amazon. There are tons of movies and TV series to stream here, some you may have heard of and many you may not have. It even produces original content, such as the viral reality show Jury Duty , which aired earlier this year.
Freevee has its own app that you can download to your devices if you are solely interested in viewing its content. But if you subscribe to Prime Video, you can access the entire Freevee library from Amazon’s flagship platform. It’s an added convenience, sure, but it also leads to some confusion when the “Prime Video” title you’ve opened suddenly shows ad breaks.
You can tell when you’re about to stream a Freevee movie because Prime Video will attach an “Advertising: Free with Ads on Freevee” tag to the title, as well as a “Watch Free with Ads” message next to the play button. . But you might not notice it if you’re urgently looking for something to watch or asking Alexa to start playing a specific title from Prime Video.
If you absolutely don’t want to see ads while watching content, you’ll just need to be a little scrupulous when choosing what to watch on Prime Video. It may seem like Amazon is a platform for watching a movie, but it is actually a Freevee show or movie. In this case, you will have to look for another place to stream it continuously.
However, if you don’t mind advertising, the partnership will open up a large library of titles for you to choose from. It also gives you an idea of what “free” Prime Video streaming will look like in 2024. If you can’t stand ads, you’ll need to be willing to give Amazon an extra $2.99 a month.