Amazon Tanks Ad-free TV on Prime

[NoMo50]

Well, we should have seen this coming. Effective January 29th, Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast ad-free content on their Prime TV shows and movies. Over the past several months there has been somewhat of a soft rollout of this change, with more and more shows being aired via their "Freevee" platform. Prime members will, however, be able to subscribe to ad-free programming for an additional fee of $2.99/month.

I realize Jeff Bezos has bills to pay, along with a very costly divorce, but...c'mon, man!

[LuvNH]

Well, we should have seen this coming. Effective January 29th, Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast ad-free content on their Prime TV shows and movies. Over the past several months there has been somewhat of a soft rollout of this change, with more and more shows being aired via their "Freevee" platform. Prime members will, however, be able to subscribe to ad-free programming for an additional fee of $2.99/month.

I realize Jeff Bezos has bills to pay, along with a very costly divorce, but...c'mon, man!

$3 a month well worth it. I sat through 7 ads on You Tube the other evening.

[shut the front door]

Prices of everything have gone up over the last few years. At least they are making it an option to stay ad free for a measly $3 a month.

[Keefelane66]

Well, we should have seen this coming. Effective January 29th, Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast ad-free content on their Prime TV shows and movies. Over the past several months there has been somewhat of a soft rollout of this change, with more and more shows being aired via their "Freevee" platform. Prime members will, however, be able to subscribe to ad-free programming for an additional fee of $2.99/month.

I realize Jeff Bezos has bills to pay, along with a very costly divorce, but...c'mon, man!
“ Freevee is a free, ad-supported TV streaming service that carries over 150 free “live” channels of 24/7 looping content as well as thousands of on-demand TV shows and movies. The Amazon-owned service was previously known as IMDb TV (2019–2022).”
It's always had adds on Freevee. Other movies on Amazon Prime do not.

[JGibson]

One person is complaining about a $5 GHIN and another is complaining about $2.99 ad free fee.

C'mon folks life is too short for this.

[Tom52]

If one chooses to pay the $3 monthly ad free fee for Amazon Prime, will the FreeVee content on Amazon Prime also be ad free? Lately, a lot of the programming on Prime is FreeVee. it would probably be worth the monthly fee if everything on Prime is ad free. No so much if all the FreeVee content still would have commercials.

[EzHighway]

Well, we should have seen this coming. Effective January 29th, Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast ad-free content on their Prime TV shows and movies. Over the past several months there has been somewhat of a soft rollout of this change, with more and more shows being aired via their "Freevee" platform. Prime members will, however, be able to subscribe to ad-free programming for an additional fee of $2.99/month.

I realize Jeff Bezos has bills to pay, along with a very costly divorce, but...c'mon, man!


That's for Prime members with a business account!

[dsgreen3]

That's for Prime members with a business account!
No that is for all Prime TV shows and movies for all prime accounts.

[EzHighway]

No that is for all Prime TV shows and movies for all prime accounts.

I received an e-mail direct from Amazon customer service now in my records, I guess the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

Happy New Years!
:posting:

[Pugchief]

Amazon Prime is an awesome service, but the streaming video service that comes with it is grossly inferior to Netflix and some of the others. I wouldn't pay for it if it wasn't free.

If you watch a lot of Prime streaming, it's worth paying the $3/month IMO, otherwise, for more occasional use, I'll probably just deal with the commercials.

[8v92ta]

One person is complaining about a $5 GHIN and another is complaining about $2.99 ad free fee.

C'mon folks life is too short for this.

Probably the ones that need a shopping cart at the liquor store

[STEVENMERL]

Well, we should have seen this coming. Effective January 29th, Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast ad-free content on their Prime TV shows and movies. Over the past several months there has been somewhat of a soft rollout of this change, with more and more shows being aired via their "Freevee" platform. Prime members will, however, be able to subscribe to ad-free programming for an additional fee of $2.99/month.

I realize Jeff Bezos has bills to pay, along with a very costly divorce, but...c'mon, man!
Big deal. I buy so much stuff from Amazon that the free shipping not only covers the annual fee not the additional 36 buck a year

[BlackHarley]

It's gonna start at 3 bucks. Give it time , just like our Prime accounts.

[Bridget Staunton]

What is GHIN? acronym are supposed to be spelled out first

[ThirdOfFive]

Well, we should have seen this coming. Effective January 29th, Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast ad-free content on their Prime TV shows and movies. Over the past several months there has been somewhat of a soft rollout of this change, with more and more shows being aired via their "Freevee" platform. Prime members will, however, be able to subscribe to ad-free programming for an additional fee of $2.99/month.

I realize Jeff Bezos has bills to pay, along with a very costly divorce, but...c'mon, man!
Definitely a pattern there. But this is not new. I recall back in the early 70s when Cable TV was in its infancy, at least in our neck of the woods. Gone were the annoying rabbit ears and the spotty reception. We now got TWELVE channels instead of two, sparkling clear on our little 19" black-and-white TV. And all for only $9.99 per month. Big selling point was that since we were now paying for what was formerly free, there would be no ads to contend with. I think that lasted two years before the ads appeared, followed by a "premium" service (a bit more money per month) that offered ad-free TV on the premium channels.

Same w/YouTube. YouTube Premium offers ad-free service. But the FREE service is increasingly peppered with increasingly long ads.

I guess the Amazon move is nothing to get your undies in a bundle about. Normal progression of events and all that. Also, Prime is a great service overall and $3 is less than pocket change.

[jlaurieb]

The point is, we already paid for it with our Amazon prime subscription.

[Rainger99]

What is GHIN? acronym are supposed to be spelled out first

I believe he was referring to The Golf Handicap & Information Network.

[LuvNH]

The point is, we already paid for it with our Amazon prime subscription.

Well, they are either going to raise the subscription to ALL or give YOU the choice of paying $3 more for no ads.

[MandoMan]

$3 a month well worth it. I sat through 7 ads on You Tube the other evening.

I agree. But I also pay YouTube to get it ad-free. Well worth the money.

[Cliff Fr]

Netflix is still ad free

[PoolBrews]

If one chooses to pay the $3 monthly ad free fee for Amazon Prime, will the FreeVee content on Amazon Prime also be ad free? Lately, a lot of the programming on Prime is FreeVee. it would probably be worth the monthly fee if everything on Prime is ad free. No so much if all the FreeVee content still would have commercials.

The letter had an asterick next to the $2.99 note and when you scroll to the bottom you will see that FreeVee content is NOT included in the ad free subscription. FreeVee will still have ads.

[Whitley]

Well, we should have seen this coming. Effective January 29th, Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast ad-free content on their Prime TV shows and movies. Over the past several months there has been somewhat of a soft rollout of this change, with more and more shows being aired via their "Freevee" platform. Prime members will, however, be able to subscribe to ad-free programming for an additional fee of $2.99/month.

I realize Jeff Bezos has bills to pay, along with a very costly divorce, but...c'mon, man!

When I first got cable (awhile ago) there were no ads. I paid so much per month and that was it.

[airstreamingypsy]

When I first got cable (awhile ago) there were no ads. I paid so much per month and that was it.

That was the deal, they advertised that we would have to pay for TV, but since we were paying there would be no commercials....... that ship has long since sailed.

[Justputt]

Seriously folks. Remember B&W TV, all the commercials, etc.? Yes, we all have a lot more road behind us than ahead of us, and a race to the end is not my goal. I'll stroll, as I've learned the end is THE END and I can wait!! Commercials are just the time to refill a drink, dispose of a consumed drink, grab a bite, or actually talk to the people around you (my favorite)!!

[Chi-Town]

I know it's not much but it still sticks in my craw.

[Regorp]

Well, we should have seen this coming. Effective January 29th, Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast ad-free content on their Prime TV shows and movies. Over the past several months there has been somewhat of a soft rollout of this change, with more and more shows being aired via their "Freevee" platform. Prime members will, however, be able to subscribe to ad-free programming for an additional fee of $2.99/month.

I realize Jeff Bezos has bills to pay, along with a very costly divorce, but...c'mon, man!

I only watch certain shows like Reacher, The Boys, Terminal List, and Leverage Redemption so adding commercials will not bother me so much .

[hypart]

I use an app ShareReviews that allows me to create a watchlist and tells you what the streaming networks are showing.

So once I have enough shows on my watchlist for Amazon prime, I'll subscribe to it for that month. And then the next month, I'll cancel Prime and subscribe to let's say Hulu.

That way I done pay for networks when there's nothing to watch.

ShareReviews also works as a great TV guide so you can see what's playing on each network.

[The Chipster]

You have to really bored or stressed out to get all wound up about a $2.99/mo. charge. I respectfully suggest YOGA and meditation.

[banjobob]

Well, we should have seen this coming. Effective January 29th, Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast ad-free content on their Prime TV shows and movies. Over the past several months there has been somewhat of a soft rollout of this change, with more and more shows being aired via their "Freevee" platform. Prime members will, however, be able to subscribe to ad-free programming for an additional fee of $2.99/month.

I realize Jeff Bezos has bills to pay, along with a very costly divorce, but...c'mon, man!
I will gladly pay a small fee for no commercials, network tv bombards 12/15 commercials at each break plus ad banners during programming all very distracting.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Nothing is going to change ,prices will keep going up , just to watch all the NFL games you have to have you tube ,prime , peacock, and NFL + when I read the different threads on here about cable i admire all the different ways people work the system by using different sits and other I guess semi illegal tools , but I’m at a time in my life I just want to turn on the tv and watch so I pay

[flsteve]

Definitely a pattern there. But this is not new. I recall back in the early 70s when Cable TV was in its infancy, at least in our neck of the woods. Gone were the annoying rabbit ears and the spotty reception. We now got TWELVE channels instead of two, sparkling clear on our little 19" black-and-white TV. And all for only $9.99 per month. Big selling point was that since we were now paying for what was formerly free, there would be no ads to contend with. I think that lasted two years before the ads appeared, followed by a "premium" service (a bit more money per month) that offered ad-free TV on the premium channels.

Same w/YouTube. YouTube Premium offers ad-free service. But the FREE service is increasingly peppered with increasingly long ads.

I guess the Amazon move is nothing to get your undies in a bundle about. Normal progression of events and all that. Also, Prime is a great service overall and $3 is less than pocket change.

My wife and I have PAID FOR Disney, Prime, Paramount+, Netflix, and YouTube. We have had others previously as well. Oddly enough, the paid platform that I like the very most is YouTube. The content is extremely useful, varied (even with the subjectively controlled content), and is virtually infinite in subject matter.

[DennisDee]

Lately, the content on Prime Video has been horrible and is no interest to me. $3/month is minor for good content. Paying any extra $$$ for something of zero value is ridiculous!

[jimjamuser]

“ Freevee is a free, ad-supported TV streaming service that carries over 150 free “live” channels of 24/7 looping content as well as thousands of on-demand TV shows and movies. The Amazon-owned service was previously known as IMDb TV (2019–2022).”
It's always had adds on Freevee. Other movies on Amazon Prime do not.
I did not know that Freevee was owned by Amazon. Freevee bugs me because when I watch some movie part way through and then I stop - it does not recognize me and it forces me to start over from the beginning (and watch all the ads over again). It is pretty awkward.

[jimjamuser]

I only watch certain shows like Reacher, The Boys, Terminal List, and Leverage Redemption so adding commercials will not bother me so much .
Strange Days is good. "Barbie" is good. That Eddie Murphy Xmas movie is good. "A Quiet Place (part 2) is good. "Black Box" is reasonably good. "Anna" is good. All on Prime.

[Pugchief]

"Barbie" is good.

You can't be serious. I'm not a 13 year old girl with woke parents, so I'm not going to take your advice.

[dtennent]

If you pay the additional $2.99, are you getting prime enhanced, Prime Priority, or, maybe Prime Prime?

[Nana2Teddy]

$3 a month well worth it. I sat through 7 ads on You Tube the other evening.

$13.99 a month, or even less if you subscribe annually to eliminate all ads on YouTube. If you are a prolific YouTuber like I am, it’s well worth it. Just be sure you subscribe at YouTube’s website via a computer browser or you’ll be charged $18.99/month via Apple subscriptions. I was doing that until my young adult son set me straight. Apple was robbing me blind, lol.

[Nana2Teddy]

That's for Prime members with a business account!
Not true! I have a regular family Prime membership, and I received the email yesterday telling me about the ads and the extra monthly fee to be ad free. It’s for all members.

[Nana2Teddy]

Amazon Prime is an awesome service, but the streaming video service that comes with it is grossly inferior to Netflix and some of the others. I wouldn't pay for it if it wasn't free.

If you watch a lot of Prime streaming, it's worth paying the $3/month IMO, otherwise, for more occasional use, I'll probably just deal with the commercials.
Agreed! It’s the least used of all of our streaming services, and we have a lot. We even watch YouTube more than Prime video.

[Nana2Teddy]

Definitely a pattern there. But this is not new. I recall back in the early 70s when Cable TV was in its infancy, at least in our neck of the woods. Gone were the annoying rabbit ears and the spotty reception. We now got TWELVE channels instead of two, sparkling clear on our little 19" black-and-white TV. And all for only $9.99 per month. Big selling point was that since we were now paying for what was formerly free, there would be no ads to contend with. I think that lasted two years before the ads appeared, followed by a "premium" service (a bit more money per month) that offered ad-free TV on the premium channels.

Same w/YouTube. YouTube Premium offers ad-free service. But the FREE service is increasingly peppered with increasingly long ads.

I guess the Amazon move is nothing to get your undies in a bundle about. Normal progression of events and all that. Also, Prime is a great service overall and $3 is less than pocket change.
We get no ads ever with our Premium YouTube subscription, and we (mostly I) watch it daily.

[Nana2Teddy]

I agree. But I also pay YouTube to get it ad-free. Well worth the money.
Yep! Me too. Just be sure you’re only paying $13.99/month, not $18.99 through Apple iCloud subscriptions. Or for even less per month pay annually. I believe I’m paying $11.99 per month by paying annually.

[Nana2Teddy]

Seriously folks. Remember B&W TV, all the commercials, etc.? Yes, we all have a lot more road behind us than ahead of us, and a race to the end is not my goal. I'll stroll, as I've learned the end is THE END and I can wait!! Commercials are just the time to refill a drink, dispose of a consumed drink, grab a bite, or actually talk to the people around you (my favorite)!!
Or look at our phones, lol. If only commercials weren’t deafeningly loud, or almost all drug related, I’d be less annoyed by them.

[Nana2Teddy]

My wife and I have PAID FOR Disney, Prime, Paramount+, Netflix, and YouTube. We have had others previously as well. Oddly enough, the paid platform that I like the very most is YouTube. The content is extremely useful, varied (even with the subjectively controlled content), and is virtually infinite in subject matter.
Same here! YouTube for the win. :)

[LuvNH]

Lately, the content on Prime Video has been horrible and is no interest to me. $3/month is minor for good content. Paying any extra $$$ for something of zero value is ridiculous!

I watch YouTube as my daily TV and Prime for my relaxation at night. I open all the stuff Amazon sends into my mail box and almost every week they are showing new shows. Plus I get my PBS Passport, BritBox and Acorn through them. There is not enough time in the day for me to watch all the material they are streaming.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Netflix is still ad free

Only the premium plan. The bare-bones plan has ads. They're few and far between, though. I've been binging on Madame Secretary and have had two interruptions per episode; one is usually 15 seconds, and the second is usually around a minute with 2 ads splitting that minute up.

[FredMitchell]

Most people view things, at least initially, in a very self-centered way. They would get killed by a better-than-average chess player who thinks about what he and his opponent are trying to do.

This is a good example. In "My Little World," I enjoyed free content, without considering how such a service could be free. If what you are using is "free," then you are what is being sold!

As of August 2023, Amazon had over 1.5 million computer servers, massive amounts of space to operate them, and an enormous amount of communication equipment to move data to and from those servers.

Instead of thinking of Jeff Bezo's wealth, which is irrelevant, consider what it costs to pay tens of thousands of employees, pay taxes in many communities, pay for content to deliver, etc. Their data centers consume enough electricity to power several million homes. They spent $35 billion - yes, with a "b", just to construct data centers in Virginia.

If $3 a month seems too much, you could always buy a candy bar instead.

[PurePeach]

That's for Prime members with a business account!

WRONG. It’s for all Prime Members, as I’m not a business member and I got the notice. This was mentioned by Clark Howard several months ago. :cus:

[Freehiker]

People outraged about $3 but roll up to the bar and buy $12 margaritas. ������������

[shaw8700@outlook.com]

You’re missing that it’s allowed as a choice, not a mandate. I couldn’t have rushed to sign up fast enough. But I can’t stand commercials. I lose that much in my sofa!

[EzHighway]

Not true! I have a regular family Prime membership, and I received the email yesterday telling me about the ads and the extra monthly fee to be ad free. It’s for all members.

Stop reading forum and call Amazon customer service like I did and was told that that e-mail was sent to me and it was a mistake and the e-mail was meant for business account holders only.

I have an e-mail from customer service advising me of such in which I requested at the end of the phone call.

Who should I believe?


Hello,

Amazon Technical Support Team.

I'm glad I was able to helped clarify the email you received from Amazon.

I can confirm that the email your received is from Amazon, notifying all customer that we have new update for Amazon Business Prime Account.

If you're not using a Business account, please disregard the email notification.

Have a wonderful day!

[Byte1]

IMO most of Prime Video is so lame and bad acting movies that I only watch a few programs on it ONLY because I can log into it via my daughter's account. If that was not available, I wouldn't even watch anything on Prime. I am lucky if I find one or two shows per month that interest me on Prime, so paying anything for it is not worth it. Netflix is getting pretty bad also. Most of the programing is dubbed foreign material. There is enough free stuff available by streaming that I don't have to spend a lot for the junk.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Stop reading forum and call Amazon customer service like I did and was told that that e-mail was sent to me and it was a mistake and the e-mail was meant for business account holders only.

I have an e-mail from customer service advising me of such in which I requested at the end of the phone call.

Who should I believe?


Hello,

Amazon Technical Support Team.

I'm glad I was able to helped clarify the email you received from Amazon.

I can confirm that the email your received is from Amazon, notifying all customer that we have new update for Amazon Business Prime Account.

If you're not using a Business account, please disregard the email notification.

Have a wonderful day!


Yes, Business prime accounts got their own e-mail. You were sent the business e-mail by mistake. Everyone ELSE got a different e-mail telling them the exact same thing. You can go to the Amazon website and read the information yourself, it's right there:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=TMwh2aig8aCv0WgwDL&ref_=hp_G9SY6AQJV45JFMET_What-is-Prime-Video-Ad-Free-

[ThirdOfFive]

IMO most of Prime Video is so lame and bad acting movies that I only watch a few programs on it ONLY because I can log into it via my daughter's account. If that was not available, I wouldn't even watch anything on Prime. I am lucky if I find one or two shows per month that interest me on Prime, so paying anything for it is not worth it. Netflix is getting pretty bad also. Most of the programing is dubbed foreign material. There is enough free stuff available by streaming that I don't have to spend a lot for the junk.
One of the advantages of Prime, IMO, is that they will often run all the shows in a series. The full series of Stargate SG-1 is available now, as is (I believe) the full three seasons to date of The Chosen. They also run some Canadian-produced series (Hell on Wheels, Frontier) which seem to have an overall much better quality both in story lines and in acting than do American-produced shows. I'd put Stargate SG-1 in that category as well, which had a large predominance of Canadian talent doing the acting.

I also enjoy the Amazon-produced shows such as The Aeronauts, among others. Those never seem to go away, they just add more shows to the list.

Overall, well worth what we're paying for it, TV as well as shopping.

[Byte1]

One of the advantages of Prime, IMO, is that they will often run all the shows in a series. The full series of Stargate SG-1 is available now, as is (I believe) the full three seasons to date of The Chosen. They also run some Canadian-produced series (Hell on Wheels, Frontier) which seem to have an overall much better quality both in story lines and in acting than do American-produced shows. I'd put Stargate SG-1 in that category as well, which had a large predominance of Canadian talent doing the acting.

I also enjoy the Amazon-produced shows such as The Aeronauts, among others. Those never seem to go away, they just add more shows to the list.

Overall, well worth what we're paying for it, TV as well as shopping.

Good points. I too binge watch some of the older series. Although, a lot of what I watch could probably be found on regular old YouTube. A lot of folks do not realize how much is available...Free. I don't mind paying for quality, but like I said, I share my kids' log on for a lot of what I watch. I do pay for YouTube TV and Netflix, but I am not sure I will continue Netflix since they do not even have a filter to bypass all the foreign dubbed stuff that I would rather skip when searching for something to watch.