Amazon CEO Andy Jassey unveiled how much Prime subscribers will have to pay to eliminate the commercials that are expected to arrive early next year.
By default, all Prime customers will see ads starting in 2024. Customers who want to eliminate those ads can pay $2.99 a month. Jassey noted that Prime Video aims to show “meaningfully fewer” ads than linear TV or other ad-based streaming services.
Jassey made the comments during the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call. Earlier Thursday, it posted quarterly results that saw the company net $9.9 billion in profits.
Amazon is just the latest company to place a bigger bet on ads to help drive the profitability of its service. Netflix last week raised the rates of its premium service, but kept its ad-tier at the same price. The services are hoping to drive more customers into the ad tier, allowing them to charge advertisers more for the larger audience. This could be a jarring change for subscribers used to the ad-free experience.
Jassey said Prime Video continues to be a major factor for the company’s Prime subscription, and is seen as the No. 2 driver of customers signing up for the service. He added that he expects Prime Video to be profitable in its own right. The company is trying to become a hub of different services, and offers a marketplace that hosts other streaming options such as Max and Paramount+.