From CNET: Amazon first started including Prime Video as a Prime membership benefit back in 2011. Over the years, its video-on-demand service became easily accessible on smart TVs and Fire TV and other streaming devices, with the added perk of being an ad-free streaming platform. You can stream thousands of TV shows and movies, including originals like The Boys and Invincible.
Now, Prime Video is the latest service to get in on the advertising game, but not by offering a cheaper tier. Ads launched on Jan. 29 in the US, and unless you want to pay an extra $3 a month to stream without them, it's the default way to watch most content on the platform. If you have a standalone Prime Video subscription that's not attached to a Prime Membership, the $9 monthly fee jumps to $12 to go commercial-free.
I spent time testing out the new ad experience while comparing it to other streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Max and Hulu. When CNET analyzed what it was like to stream with commercials on all the major platforms, we learned some ad loads are way heavier than others. I can say that Prime Video is on the leaner side, even when stacked against Freevee, Amazon's free ad-supported streamer.
Should you pay to upgrade your account to watch ad-free? Among its rivals, Prime Video costs the least to upgrade, but some of you may find that going ad-free is not worth the extra dollars. Keep reading to see what I learned while trying streaming with commercial breaks and things you may want to consider.
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