Monday, October 7, 2024

Amazon Prime Adding Commercials to Movies, Shows — Unless You Kick in $36 a Year

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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.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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