'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Ads are coming to Amazon Prime Video this month - unless you pay to opt out
Beginning on January 29, your Prime Video binge-watching sessions will likely be interrupted by ads -- unless you pay an extra $2.99 per month in addition to your Amazon Prime subscription.
Amazon announced last fall that Prime Video would get "limited ads" in shows and movies in early 2024. The company hopes the change will provide an additional revenue stream and offset the investment into high-quality, "compelling content."
Also: Want a better way to watch YouTube? This app turns your PC into a TV
The company also announced it will not make changes to the Prime membership pricing in 2024, which currently costs $15 per month or $139 per year.
Prime members will start seeing what Amazon is calling "meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV services" in the US, UK, Germany, and Canada. But each Prime membership will have the option to add a new ad-free tier to its subscription for an extra $2.99 monthly.
Prime Video users won't need to make any changes to their current settings unless they opt for the ad-free subscription, which is available for pre-order now. The $2.99-a-month plan will start on January 29 and renew automatically each month after.
The ads will roll out gradually to Prime members in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in 2024.
Also: 6 ways to spend less on TV streaming without losing the shows you love
The news came after Amazon made a series of announcements and product launches during its Devices & Services event last September, including two new Fire TV Sticks, the TV 4K and 4K Max, and a Fire TV Soundbar, as well as a series of Fire TV updates that include the integration of generative AI.
Amazon's Prime Video is a streaming service available through the Prime subscription, which also gives users free same-day, one-day, and two-day delivery, exclusive Prime deals and access to Prime Day discounts, Amazon Pharmacy, Fresh grocery delivery, Amazon Music, and more.