Amazon Prime Video recently announced the company will be adding an ad-supported tier. Insider Intelligence has released some statistics on Amazon Prime Video viewership and compared that with time spent watching content.
“Amazon introducing ads into Prime Video is just the latest step in their increasing embrace of streaming advertising. The Fire TV interface makes virtually no distinction between shows on ad-free Prime Video and those on ad-supported Freevee,” said Ross Benes, Principal Analyst for Insider Intelligence. “Officially putting ads into Prime Video allows Amazon to centralize its audience and be more consistent with branding…. It has struggled to stand out in a crowded field of free services.”
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Its most recent report looks at Amazon Prime membership usage spanning from 2020 through predictions for 2024. The data is derived from all demographics who watch Amazon Prime Video through the website or the app at least once a month.
The number of Amazon Prime Video viewers was 133.2 million in 2020, growing 10 percent to 146.5 million in 2021. In 2022, viewer numbers grew by 4.1 percent to 152.6 million viewers. This year, viewers are expected to increase to 157.3 million, up 3.1 percent. In 2024, Insider Intelligence predicts Amazon Prime Video viewers will top 161.9 million, increasing by 2.9 percent – its lowest percentage yet.
Insider Intelligence also broke down the percentage of subscription OTT video service users during the same time span. In 2020, the report shows 63.8 percent of Amazon Prime Video members had OTT subscriptions which grew to 68.7 percent in 2021, reaching 70 percent in 2022. This year, OTT subscription percentages are expected to increase to 70.8 percent and are forecasted to end 2024 with 71.5 percent.
As for how much time is spent watching Amazon Prime Video content, the numbers have stayed relatively stable over the years. People aged 18 and up watch a consistent 20 minutes of content at least once a month. 2020 saw a 5.7 percent change, decreasing to 0.6 percent in 2021, rising a bit in 2022 to 0.9 percent, before falling to 0.5 percent this year. It is expected to stay at 0.5 percent in 2024.