Fuming Amazon Prime members say app is ‘getting out of hand’ as TV streamer announces even MORE ads are coming
AMAZON Prime users are braced for more adverts to appear on the streaming service.
The tech giant’s latest promotional tactic will see ads appear when you pause.
Amazon has only just introduced conventional ad breaks to the platform at the start of the year, charging users $2.99 / £2.99 extra per month if they want to avoid them.
That move alone went down badly with subscribers who have decided to quit the site.
All this will do is make me hate your product
Prime user
“It’s one of many reasons I left Amazon Prime,” one former viewer wrote on social media.
“Every five minutes they were shoving 90 seconds of ads down my throat. I couldn’t enjoy what I was watching any more.”
But now the firm is going a step further, announcing the arrival of three new types of adverts.
These include carousel ads, pause ads, and trivia ads.
Other streaming sites have already started using pause ads – and YouTube is planning to start using them in too.
The carousel ads on Prime will appear as a “sliding lineup” of products available to purchase from Amazon’s main shopping site.
These will automatically pause if you interact at all with it.
And the interactive brand trivia ads encourage customers to use their remote control to add products directly to their shopping basket, as well as claim rewards.
“Amazon Prime is about to lose more subscribers,” one user commented on X.
“Why would companies want to advertise like this ?” another wrote.
“All this will do is make me hate your product.”
A third added: “This is getting out of hand.”
The move may not come as a surprise to industry insiders, as Amazon recently revealed ads have helped the company beat forecasts for sales and profit in the first three months of 2024.
There are ways to avoid paid streaming altogether with free alternatives here.
WHY MORE ADS?
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Senior Technology and Science Reporter at The Sun
Almost all major streaming services have introduced ads now.
And despite people saying they’ll cancel subscriptions, many haven’t – or they end up returning in the end.
Netflix’s advertising chief revealed in January that the ad-based tier now has more than 23million global active users per month.
Of course, users who have enjoyed having no interruptions during their shows all these years aren’t too happy about the shift, saying streamers are essentially morphing into traditional satellite or cable TV services.
With prices pretty much increasing annually, companies have tried to offset the impact by telling users they can keep (or lower) their current subscription cost with ads – but if you want an ad-free experience you’ll have to pay more for the privilege.
So expect to see more ad-backed subscription models and pause ads in the future.