Prime Video has doubled the number of ads it makes viewers watch
Prime Video has doubled the number of ads it makes viewers watch
According to ad agency representatives, Prime Video’s ads per hour have gradually been increasing of late.
Have you been noticing more ads while streaming Prime Video of late? If so, it’s not just you. An exclusive report from Ad Week shows that Prime Video has been increasing the number of ads it shows to customers, and now viewers are seeing essentially double the number of ads per hour as they did when Amazon launched the ad-supported plan of the streamer in early 2024.
Key Details:
- It’s confirmed: Adweek spoke to representatives from several ad agencies who confirm Prime Video’s ad load has gone up.
- Broken promise?: Amazon pledged to show “meaningfully fewer” ads than other streamers in 2024.
- Expert observation The Streamable’s own data confirms Ad Week’s findings.
In investigating this rapid rise in commercials, Adweek’s Mark Stenberg spoke to employees at different advertising firms who discussed the increase in ad loads for Prime Video.
“They told us the ad load would be increasing,” programmatic supervisor at Rain the Growth Agency Kendra Tang told Adweek. “That’s been confirmed recently when we noticed more avails in the system.”
Although Amazon has not publicly discussed the increase in ad loads, the company did confirm the jump in an email to an ad buyer; “Prime Video ad load has gradually increased to four to six minutes per hour.”
That essentially doubles the two and a half to three minutes of ads per hour the streamer started out showing back in early 2024, when its ad plan was introduced. As recently as August 2024, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the company's goal was to show “meaningfully fewer” ads compared to other streaming services. Now, it appears that the online retailer’s goal has changed.
The Streamable's own research confirms that viewers are now seeing more than two to three minutes of ads per hour on Prime Video; our tests in January found that the streamer showed around three to five minutes of commercials every 60 minutes, and that Prime Video is more or less on par with most other streamers in that regard.
A survey from February showed that younger viewers consider Prime Video less of a value since the rollout of its ad plan, and this news is unlikely to change their opinions. What do you think about the news that Prime Video has more or less doubled its ad load? Have you noticed more commercials while watching the streamer? Tell us about your experience below.
Prime Video
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