Amazon’s decision to introduce ads into its Prime Video represents a big shake up for the streaming video service. But, it turns out, just a small number of people are actually going to leave because of them.
That’s according to research firm Hub Entertainment Research. Its study found that that 59% of respondents would continue to watch Prime Video with ads, and 26% would pay the monthly $2.99 fee to remove them. Only 15% said they would stop watching altogether.
Whether that 15% would just stop watching Prime Video or cancel their Prime subscription is a little unclear, although the researchers at Hub were skeptical people would drop their other benefits just because of some ads. But the research did find that those in the “stop watching” camp were less inclined to say they would still be a Prime subscriber in three months.
The results illustrate the growing role that advertising is playing in our streaming lives after years of ad-free subscription services. That gravy train is over, with companies introducing lower tier plans that strip away certain features. Prime Video’s new standard ad tier, for instance, removes certain high-end video and sound features like Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos. And while some customers might be angry enough to file a lawsuit, for the most part, audiences are going to accept those ads.
Hub noted that this is good news for Amazon, which likely catapulted to the top in terms of potential audiences for its ads. It’s also bad news for traditional cable TV, with ad budgets likely diverting to Prime Video instead.
Either way, you’re likely stuck with ads no matter what you watch.
Image credit: Amazon
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