Amazon Prime Canada to Start Showings Ads ( Scheduled to Start on Jan. 29 )

[BobArthur]

So starting in 2024 Amazon Prime will now start showing ads but they will have the option of staying ad-free for an extra $2.99/month.

from cp24.com:

Amazon Prime Video will include advertising during shows and movies starting early next year, joining other streaming services that have added different tiers of subscriptions.

Members of Amazon Prime can pay $2.99 per month in the U.S. to keep their service ad-free, the company said Friday.

Streaming services are in a heated tug-of-war over viewers and users are growing more adept at jumping in and out of those services, often depending on price. The platforms risk losing customers with price hikes, but they could lose them if they don't generate new content that wins over users.

Ads in Prime Video content will start in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada in early 2024, followed by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in the year.

Amazon said that it's not making changes to the price of Prime membership next year. It plans to announce pricing for ad-free programming for countries other than the U.S. at a later time.

For U.S. users, Amazon said it will send out an email to Prime members several weeks before ads are introduced into its programs with information on how to sign up for the ad-free option if they choose to do so.

Full story: https://www.cp24.com/entertainment-news/movie-tv-news/amazon-prime-video-will-soon-come-with-ads-or-...

For those of us that have Amazon Prime as a theme pack I wonder if Telus will pick up that extra charge or will the customers have to do it themselves ????

[dru]

@BobArthur Amazon announced ads and an ad-free tier only today so it's very early given they are targetting 2024 for a Canada rollout. There are no dicussions happening - that I am aware of - at this time and I suspect there won't be any updates until closer to Amazon's launch date. Feel free to ask again in late December 🙂

[BobArthur]

Dammit dru - I need an answer and I need it now !!!!!! 😁  Yes - I did know that the news was just released within the last 24 hours and I was just putting the information out there for my fellow Telus users that subscribe to Amazon Prime Canada services either on their own or through Telus. I am pretty sure that if it ends up that the customers are responsible for this new fee ( if they choose it ) that I would still keep APC as a theme pack and probably just put up with the ads.......depending on just how many they give us.

[dru]

😁

[Rocky3]

Really quite simple. Pay the $2.99 or watch the ads.

Don't expect Telus to pick up the $2.99. 

The cost of prime has gone up from last year, the cost will probably go up next year

[BobArthur]

Even more simple - let's wait and see what Telus does. 

[giantbrownguy]

I wouldn't expect it. When Netflix increased their prices, Telus tacked on an additional charge to cover the cost of retaining the "ultra" plan. So there's an extra $4 "Netflix Premium Surcharge" on my bill to cover the difference. So essentially, it comes down to if your existing bill covers Prime pre- or post-fee. 

[BobArthur]

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@giantbrownguy wrote:

 So essentially, it comes down to if your existing bill covers Prime pre- or post-fee. 

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That's a good point - it might be one of those things where the customers that already subscribe to Amazon Prime through Telus are grandfathered in and won't have to pay the extra charge for no ads while new customers to the service will have to make that decision. It will be interesting to see what Telus does and also just how Amazon Prime introduces this new function.

[BobArthur]

So the ads are scheduled to start on January 29th:

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-video-will-cost-299-month-free-avoid-ads-2023-9

Still waiting to hear how Telus will handle this. 

[BobArthur]

Got an e-mail from Amazon Prime Canada about an hour ago - the ads will start in Canada on February 5th:

Dear Prime member,

We are writing to you today about an upcoming change to your Prime Video experience. Starting February 5, Prime Video movies and TV shows will include limited advertisements. This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time. We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than traditional TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Prime membership. We will also offer a new ad-free option for an additional $2.99 per month* that you can sign up for here.

And, you can expect additional features and programs added in the future for our Prime members.

As mentioned above, no action is required from you. If you wish to sign up for the ad-free option, you can click here to sign up. And, as always, if you have questions about your Prime membership, you can manage your account here.

Thank you for being a valued member of Amazon Prime.

Sincerely,
The Amazon Prime team

* Live event content such as sports will continue to include advertising.

[BobArthur]

The ad-free charges are starting soon so can anybody from Telus please let us know what the plan is going forward ????

[dru]

For now, there isn't any announcement to be shared. Since ads apply to all Prime subscribers, assume for now that it will be a part of the subscription. If there are any update to the package and/or pricing strucutre, I'll let you know here 🙂

[johnostaf]

Good Day..... noticed yesterday that ads appearing on our PRIME - Optik  which is part of our agreement.  Please confirm that Telus has an agreement with Amazon Prime to include the $2.99 as part of our package and we do not have to pay this #2.99.  Thank You

[optik-user]

I am seeing Ads on my Optik Prime. Need answer soon.

[Steve7]

Dru
I currently pay for Amazon Prime through Telus. I don't want to view ads. Can I pay the $2.99 surcharge through Telus, or do I cancel my Prime with Telus and subscribe directly with Amazon, or ?

[A-B]

Our team is working on getting this 'upgrade' option so to speak, available directly through Optik but for now it's not yet available. We'll be sure to let everyone know when it is!

[BobArthur]

Thanks Dru - I appreciate you keeping us updated. 👍