Amazon is considering plans to put more adverts into its content, despite users already paying to watch films and TV shows on Prime Video, according to reports. The Wall Street Journal says Amazon is looking to imitate Netflix which offers cheaper subscriptions for people who agree to sit through adverts.
Amazon Prime membership currently costs £8.99 a month. Netflix offers its cheapest subscription at £4.99 with ads climbing to £15.99 a month for no-ads and maximum account users.
Amazon has not confirmed the move, which could see adverts before and during content - similar to the way its free connect channel Freevee operates.
Last October, a Netflix boss said it is the right time to introduce a new cheaper ad-supported tier as he feels this is a “pivotal moment” in the entertainment industry. The streaming giant’s chief operating officer, Greg Peters, announced that the new basic tier with adverts would launch in the UK on November 3 and cost £4.99 a month.
At launch, adverts were 15 or 30 seconds in length and play before and during series and films, with an average of four to five minutes of adverts per hour. A limited number of films and TV series are not available due to licensing restrictions, but Netflix has said it is working on reducing this number.
There is also no ability to download titles, and the video quality will range up to 720p/HD on the new tier.
Mr Peters said: “We’ve seen this gradual switch from linear to on-demand internet-based entertainment, but now that switch is happening at ever-increasing speed, to the point where now streaming has surpassed both broadcast and cable for total TV time.”
Asked how the streamer plans to ensure the adverts will not disrupt the viewing experience, Mr Peters said Netflix’s internal content tagging teams will be used to find the natural break points within TV shows and films so that they can “deliver the ads in the least obtrusive point”.
In relation with movies, he said there will be a “pre-roll ad experience” for the films recently added to “try and preserve that cinematic model”, while movies that have been on the streamer for a while will have both before and during the movie adverts – but the breaks will be less frequent.
