Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the UK reacted with outrage when they first started seeing ads.
Starting today, millions of UK customers will see ads at the beginning, end and even during their favorite shows and movies.
And the only way to avoid these frustrating interruptions is to pay an additional fee of £2.99 a month.
On social media, many frustrated Amazon subscribers have called the streaming service “greedy.”
Some have even threatened to cancel their accounts over the change, with one writing: “I will definitely make sure this is my last month with Amazon.”
Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the UK have reacted with outrage as they began seeing ads for the first time.
On social media, Amazon Prime Video subscribers reacted with outrage to the changes. Some have criticized the move as greedy, while others say they won’t pay more to stop advertising.
Last year, Amazon announced that it would begin including advertising on its Prime Video streaming service.
The change only takes effect today in the UK, a week after US customers started seeing ads.
However, on social media, Amazon Prime Video customers have already reacted with indignation to the changes.
One furious customer took to
The changes led one commenter to ask: “How greedy can one be?”
Meanwhile, another wrote: ‘@amazon is getting greedy. The only reason for Prime was all the features included, now it’s just a shipping service.’
Amazon Prime Video is one of the extras included for free with an Amazon Prime subscription and there will be no change to the monthly price of the service.
Some commenters criticized Amazon’s social media changes, calling the decision to include ads “disgusting behavior” and asking “how greedy can you be?”
This means existing customers will continue to pay £8.99 ($11.34) per month or £95 (£119.87) per year for the service.
To continue viewing the service ad-free, customers will now need to purchase an additional subscription for £2.99/month or £35.88/year.
This brings the total cost of a subscription to just under £12/month.
Many X commenters say they are unwilling to pay the additional cost of watching ad-free, with some even threatening to cancel their accounts entirely.
One commenter wrote: ‘Would you like to pay an extra £2.99 to remove the ads we’ve now included in your paid service?’ No, I wouldn’t, Amazon. You make enough money, fuck you.
Another said they were “about to cancel Amazon Prime because they want to be greedy.”
Other Amazon Prime Video subscribers wrote that they would prefer to cancel their subscription entirely, rather than face ads or pay more to remove them.
One frustrated commenter shared an image of their Amazon Prime Video account offering them the “Ad Free” option.
In a post on X, they wrote: ‘So I already pay for #Prime and now I have to pay more to not have ads?
“I think it’s time to cancel completely and spend my money elsewhere.”
Other users were more direct and simply wrote: “I will not be renewing Prime at my next annual renewal.”
‘If I have to pay for ads, why do I pay for the streaming service? I’ll use an ad blocker for a month and cancel,” wrote another.
The changes to Amazon Prime Video come after Netflix and Disney+ introduced ads to their streaming service.
However, the main difference between their approaches is that both services introduced a lower-priced subscription tier that included ads instead of making ads standard.
Netflix introduced a cheaper ad-supported subscription tier that customers could choose to purchase for £4.99 a month.
Social media users questioned why it would be worth paying more to obtain the quality of service they received until very recently.
Similarly, Disney+ introduced an advertising tier, first for US users in December 2022, and then in the UK and eight other European countries in November also at £4.99 per month.
The total cost of an Amazon Prime subscription plus the additional cost of not having ads will also be more expensive than a standard Netflix account or a Disney+ Premium account, which cost £10.99 a month and do not include ads.
Amazon also notes that paying to be ad-free will not remove all ads from the platform.
Some titles will continue to include ‘promotional trailers shown before a movie or TV show’ that can be skipped with a paid, ad-free subscription.
Additionally, live events, such as sports matches, and any content offered through Amazon Freevee when available will continue to include advertising.
WHAT ARE THE VIDEO STREAMING OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO UK CUSTOMERS?
Netflix
Price: £4.99/month (with ads) OR £10.99/month for Standard OR £17.99/month for Premium
Success programs:
Amazon Prime
Price: £8.99 per month OR £95 per year
Success programs:
- Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
- Boys
AppleTV+
Price: £8.99 a month
Success programs:
- Ted Lasso
- For all humanity
Disney+
Price: £4.99/month (with ads) OR £7.99/month for Standard OR £10.99/month for Premium
Success programs:
- The Mandalorian
- The Simpsons
NOW TV
Price: From £6.99 per month (6 months) or £9.99 (flexible)
Success programs:
- game of Thrones
- Chernobyl
hayu
Price: £4.99 per month
Success programs:
- keeping up with the Kardashians
- Made in Chelsea
BritBox
Price: £5.99 per month OR £59.99 per year
Success programs:
- spit image
- Midsomer Murders
Prices correct as of January 2024.