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Amazon introduced adverts to Prime Video early last year, causing outrage from some subscribers.
One group of Prime Video viewers were so furious, they decided to launch a lawsuit in the United States against Amazon. The subscribers argued that, having paid a $139 annual subscription on the promise of an ad-free streaming experience for the entire year, Prime Video should've remained the same for the duration of the contract.
The class action lawsuit argued: "Reasonable consumers expect that, if you purchase a subscription with ad-free streaming of movies and TV shows, that the ad-free streaming for movies and TV shows is available for the duration of the purchased subscription."
The disgruntled subscribers argued that the addition of advertisements constituted an effective price increase, breaching subscriber agreements and violating Washington state consumer protection laws.
But a federal judge has disagreed with the Prime Video subscribers.
Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, who was first appointed to the federal bench back in 1980, dismissed the proposed class action against Amazon on Thursday last week. The US District concluded that the new adverts in Prime Video were a "benefit modification" which was permitted by both Amazon and the subscribers under their agreements.
As well as a rotating selection of licensed films, television series, and documentaries, Prime Video includes a slew of original productions that it has financed that will always be exclusive to its streaming service
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In her ruling, the Judge — who serves on the US District Court for the Western District of Washington — noted that, “as this is Plaintiffs’ third attempt to plead viable claims against Amazon, and each time it has asserted substantially similar claims and theories, no further amendment will be permitted.”
You can read a copy of the decision via Variety magazine, at this link.
“Amazon never promised — to Prime members or anyone else — that Prime Video would be always, or entirely, ad-free,” the US shopping service noted in its filing with the court last year. It appears Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein agrees.
Within Prime Video’s terms of use, Amazon says that it withholds the right to adjust the price of its subscription, as well as the library of titles bundled in the streamers’ digital catalogue and other small-print.
It states: “Offers and pricing for subscriptions (also referred to at times as memberships), the subscription services, the extent of available Subscription Digital Content, and the specific titles available through subscription services, may change over time and by location without notice (except as may be required by applicable law).”
Adverts aren't included on Prime Video worldwide, but instead, are currently limited to the following countries:
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Germany
- Austria
- Japan
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- France
- India
- Italy
- Spain
- Mexico
Jeremy Clarkson and Lisa Hogan star in docu-series Clarkson's Farm, which is exclusive to Prime Video worldwide
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Unlike ad-supported subscriptions on Disney+ and Netflix, Amazon decided not to lower the monthly cost with the arrival of adverts. Instead, Prime Video viewers will continue to pay the same fee as last month ...but their favourite TV shows, documentaries, and films won’t begin until a short ad break has finished playing.
Prime Video will also interrupt your content to play adverts too, although Amazon has promised you’ll see “meaningfully fewer ads than ad-supported TV channels and other streaming TV providers." For movies, there's often an ad break at the beginning, before a second bout of adverts in the first third, before the streamer promises that your content will continue uninterrupted for the rest of its runtime.
Advertising landed on Prime Video in the United States in January 2024, one month before the same change rolled out in the UK. That wasn’t the only adjustment, with support for flagship sound and picture standards Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision also ditched unless you pay the extra monthly fee.
Prime Video is available as a standalone subscription for £5.99 per month, but it’s also bundled as a perk with Amazon Prime membership, which costs £8.99 per month or £95 per year.
As well as watching exclusive TV shows and films on Prime Video, Amazon Prime members enjoy unlimited next-day delivery across thousands of items, exclusive access to Lightning Deals and sales events like Prime Day, music streaming on Amazon Echo and other devices, unlimited cloud back-up for photos, and a rotating selection of Kindle ebooks and magazines to read at no extra cost.
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Amazon says the introduction of adverts will enable it to “continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.”