Prime Video is getting more ads - because subscribers tolerated the first round so well

If you're an Amazon Prime video customer, more ads are coming your way.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced that ads were coming to its Prime Video service unless you paid $2.99 a month to opt out. At the time, Amazon called the ads "limited" and noted that viewers would see "meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV services."

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According to Kelly Day, Amazon's Vice President of Prime Video International, that experiment worked so well that it's being expanded.

Speaking to Financial Times, Day said Amazon will "ramp up" its ads program and offer even more slots to buyers in 2025. Amazon's initial venture into ads was "very light," Day added. For example, there are no breaks in the middle of a program. 

However, exactly how many more ads are coming -- or if we'll see the introduction of content-interrupting ads -- isn't clear.

Day didn't say how many customers switched to the ad-free tier, but it was below 20%, a number some analysts believed was a possible target.

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Amazon isn't alone in adding more commercials. Netflix axed its cheapest ad-free plan last year, and other streaming platforms like Disney+, Hulu, Max, and Paramount+ have added ad-supported tiers.

Why is Amazon introducing more ads? Customers tolerated the first round. The churn, Day said, or how many customers canceled after January's ad influx was "much, much less than anticipated." 

Among the new commercials, Amazon says, will be shoppable ads that let you browse and buy multiple related products, interactive pause ads (like what just came to YouTube) that let you engage with brands while your content is on hold, and interactive trivia ads that let you earn Amazon shopping credits and unlock other rewards. These ads will be present on both mobile devices and traditional TVs.