With over 20,000 movies and 2,000 television shows, Amazon Prime Video is one of the largest streaming services on the planet.
Often considered to be one of the best perks of becoming an Amazon Prime member, we expect this premium streaming platform to be free of advertisements. So, if you’ve begun seeing ads on your Amazon Prime Video content, this can be quite annoying!
But why does Amazon Prime Video show ads, and is there any way to get rid of them?
In this article, we’ll cover everything that you need to know!
1. Amazon Owns Multiple Streaming Services
Did you know that Amazon owns hundreds of different brands and services?
This includes other streaming platforms, such as IMDB and Twitch.tv
What many people are unaware of however is that IMDB TV content (which has now been rebranded to ‘Freevee’) is fully integrated into Amazon Prime Video’s catalog. This was done to rapidly increase the content available within the Prime Video app.
However, Freevee is technically a different platform, with its own set of rules.
When IMDB’s catalog merged with Amazon Prime Video, the IMDB content continued to show ads within the content, and this is still something that happens to this day.
Therefore, if Amazon Prime Video is showing you ads in the middle of your shows or movies, chances are you are viewing something from IMDB’s catalog – and not the original Prime Video library itself.
Again, Amazon has merged both platforms together, and it isn’t easy to see whether or not you’re viewing content that has ads before you start watching it.
This is frustrating, and something we hope Amazon fixes soon.
2. Ads Are Placed By The Network
On certain shows, ads may be placed by the television network or the producer of the show rather than Amazon themselves.
Because Amazon is licensing the content from other networks, they unfortunately do not have a lot of control over the content itself. If the network providing the show wants to include an advertisement within it, there unfortunately isn’t much Amazon can do to change it.
Therefore, it’s possible you may see advertisements within regular Amazon Prime Video content – even if you pay for extra Prime Video channels (such as Starz, HBO or Docubay).
Thankfully, other networks injecting advertising into their Prime Video content is rare. However, it is still a possibility, so we wanted to mention it.
3. Non-Intrusive Ads
Many people don’t know this, but Amazon has a long history of showing non-intrusive ads on the Amazon Prime Video platform.
These primarily consist of banner ads while browsing through the Amazon Prime Video interface, and typically recommend other Amazon products, or content available within the Amazon Prime Video app. Amazon may also push their own original series more heavily, to build awareness of the content their own studios have developed.
Additionally, most advertising within the content itself is restricted to either the beginning of the content, or the very end. This makes it easy to ignore, particularly for movies. On television shows, it can still be quite annoying if you’re going through episodes quickly of course.
If you are being shown ads in the middle of your content, check to make sure you aren’t watching content that’s labeled as ‘free with ads’, or is part of the IMDB TV (now called ‘Freevee’) catalog. Unfortunately, even with a paid Amazon Prime subscription these shows and movies may still be supported by advertising.
Are The Number Of Prime Video Ads Increasing?
To some degree, Amazon Prime Video has always had ads on its content. But have the number of ads been increasing?
Unfortunately, reports from other users online show that it seems to be the case.
Originally, you may have only received banner ads while browsing for content that promoted some of Amazon’s original series. Now however, people are not only receiving ads at the beginning and ending of some content, but even in the middle!
While most of this is caused by Amazon’s recent merger with IMDB (who still acts as a separate service, but is integrated in the Amazon Prime Video app), anecdotal reports suggest the sheer volume of ads is increasing across the board.
It’s possible that this may seem to be the way that streaming services are headed. With Netflix rumored to come out with a cheaper, ad-supported model soon, streaming giants will certainly test the limits to maximize their profitability.
Many of us switched to streaming to avoid the ads that plague cable and network television. To avoid streaming services taking the same route, we should speak up and make ourselves – both with our voices and with our wallets.
How To View Amazon Prime Video Without Ads
If you are already paying for Amazon Prime, it is understandable that you’d want an ad-free experience, similar to other premium streaming platforms.
But how do you ensure ads don’t bother you when trying to enjoy their content?
Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do.
First of all, you should avoid watching any content that Amazon specifically says is ad supported. Although some of this content is visibly labeled on PC, it can be harder to find on a smart TV for example.
Secondly, if you click the ‘More Options’ button before you start streaming, you may be able to find versions of the show are movie that are listed as ad-free.
If no other options are available and the content still shows ads, you may consider looking to see if the show is available on any other streaming platform. It may be worth picking up a subscription to another service, particularly if you plan on watching a lengthy television show with many seasons. If an entire show has ads across hundreds of episodes, this can add up to a considerable amount of time wasted watching advertisements.
So, using an alternate streaming service such as Netflix or Hulu may be a wise idea.
Note:Â It is possible to opt out of Amazon’s interest-based ads by clicking here. This will not decrease the number of ads shown to you, however – it will simply avoid using your data to show you more relevant advertisements. Therefore, it may be worth keeping this setting on. While advertisements are annoying regardless, it’s at least nice when they show you something you’re actually interested in!
Conclusion
Unfortunately, some content on Amazon Prime Video has ads that are unavoidable. Although this can be quite annoying, it is most often caused by Amazon’s integration with IMDB.
Without the merger of both Amazon Prime Video’s library and IMDB, these shows simply wouldn’t be available within the Amazon Prime Video catalog.
We hope that Amazon will make it more clear what content contains ads, and which do not. For now however, it can be difficult to know before starting your movie or show.
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful. If you have any other questions about Amazon Prime Video, please ask them using the comment form below.
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister