Starting in 2024, Amazon will begin adding ads to the video content available in its Prime Video library. Users will have the option to go ad-free by paying extra.

After Netflix, another streaming giant is planning to boost revenue by introducing ads to its paid plans. Or in Amazon's words, its video streaming platform, Prime Video, will soon show 'meaningfully fewer ads' to users to continue providing 'compelling content.' And for users who wish to completely eliminate these ads, Amazon Prime is introducing a new ad-free option for an additional $2.99 per month. This means that if you have a subscription to Amazon Prime Membership, you will need to pay a bit more for a completely ad-free streaming experience.

"To continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time, starting in early 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertisements," says Amazon in its official announcement. Amazon will implement its new ad policy for Prime members beginning in early 2024. It's important to note that the cost of the ad-free experience, which is $2.99 (around Rs 248) per month, has been announced for the U.S. Prime members, and pricing for other countries will be shared at a later date.

While the ads option will be available globally, Amazon has announced that it will be implemented in phases. According to Amazon's press release, ads will initially be introduced on Prime Video content in the US, UK, Germany, and Canada in 'early 2024,' with France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia to follow later in the same year.

Once the ad policy is implemented, users will see ads while streaming. Amazon has clarified that it will not change the pricing of its Prime membership subscription. However, users will have the option to completely remove ads by paying more for the ongoing plan.

Meanwhile, Amazon will notify its Prime members of the change several weeks before the ads begin. Prime customers will receive an email in the weeks leading up to the advertising rollout, which will include the option to sign up for the ad-free tier.

The new move by Amazon Prime follows in the footsteps of Netflix, which made some changes to its paid subscriptions earlier this year. To attract more users, Netflix announced Netflix Ad-supported Plans, which are more affordable than its regular plans. While Netflix Ad-supported Plans are not yet available in India, the OTT platform still offers a mobile-only plan for its Indian users.

Meanwhile, Amazon Prime also introduced a similar affordable plan. The streaming giant introduced Amazon Prime Lite, which is a more affordable and simplified version of their standard Prime subscription. Priced at Rs 999, the Amazon Lite Subscription costs less than the regular Amazon Prime Annual plan priced at Rs 999."