amazon has begun to communicate to subscribers of Prime Video in Spain the date on which they will begin advertising broadcasts within the streaming platform. In an email that it is sending to its customers, the company explains the changes it is introducing to the subscription model and the increment of price that the service will have for those who do not want to watch interrupted programs, movies and series with ads. The date is next April 9th and the additional price they will have to pay is 1.99 euros per month.
Unlike in other countries such as the United States, in Spain Prime Video cannot be contracted independently of the rest of the services included in Amazon Primehence the increase is applied to the entire subscription. The current price of Amazon Prime, which will be maintained by subscribers who pay the toll to view ads, is 4.99 euros per month or 49.90 per year. With the increase to avoid ads, go up to 6.98 per month or 73.78 euros per year. Subscriptions to channels, live TV and Freevee will continue to have adsindicates Amazon, even paying the additional €1.99.
Amazon explains in its email that starting April 9, Prime Video series and movies will include “limited advertising” which “will allow us to continue investing in attractive content and continue increasing that investment in the long term and thus maintain the quality and quantity of content on Prime Video.”
When Amazon announced this measure in the US market, where it was implemented in January, it emphasized that there would not be too many announcements. “Our goal is to have far fewer ads than on linear television and other streaming services“, the company assures in the statement to its clients in Spain.
From the experience of American subscribers, they can skip at any time in a movie or series. Either at the beginning, in the middle or at the end. They show a counter indicating how much is left for its completion and the advertising load is between the 2 and 3 and a half minutes per hour of content.
The ads aren't the only change U.S. subscribers have experienced. Those who do not subscribe to the ad-free plan also lose Dolby Visionan HDR (high dynamic range) format and Dolby Atmos (a surround sound technology). So even if your television supports these features, it will not be able to display them if you do not have an ad-free subscription on the platform.
Amazon does not mention this change in its informational email, but it is expected that the same policy applies in Spain. On April 9 we will know.