It’s time to pay the piper.
Starting on January 29, Amazon Prime says it will start inserting commercials into their movies and TV shows.
The only way out is to pony up $2.99 a month, or basically, an extra $36.
Yes, this is streaming, not TV. But that’s how the cookie crumbles. Amazon, owned by the richest person in the world, needs some revenue to keep the stream flowing.
They aren’t alone. All the streaming platforms offer commercials or commercial free viewing of their programs. Spotify does it for music. And the prices keep going up.
Some of the streamers are offering bundles. Disney grouped their Disney Plus with Hulu and ESPN. Soon, Apple will join in. But to get a deal you have to be Albert Einstein to figure it all out. Yesterday I took on BritBox to get the Cary Grant series. Add that to all the ones above and the monthly price for all this stuff is astronomical. And that doesn’t include the cable package with HBO, TCM, and Showtime/Paramount.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime costs $139, so add $36 to that if you don’t want Nespresso commercials popping up in the middle of movies! Of course Amazon Prime includes shipping on things you buy in the store. But for movies, most cost something to rent, and that won’t change.
Hmmmm. Maybe just read a book? Or watch the fireplace for entertainment.
