Amazon is now showing 4 to 6 minutes of advertisements per hour on its Prime Video streaming service. That's about double the ad load from when the company introduced ads in January 2024, according to a report from Adweek.
According to the report, which is based on information from six ad buyers and documents, Amazon notified investors of the increase in ads but has not made a public announcement of the change.
Despite initial grumbling from consumers, Amazon introduced ads to Prime Video in January 2024, with ad loads of 2 to 3.5 minutes per hour.
"We remain focused on prioritizing ad innovation over volume," an Amazon Ads spokesperson said. "While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown. Since the beginning of this year alone, we've announced multiple capabilities, including Brand+, Complete TV and new ad formats -- all designed to deliver industry-leading relevancy and enhanced customer experiences. We will continue to invest in this important work, creating meaningful innovations that benefit both customers and advertisers alike."
The higher volume of ads serves at least a couple of purposes. It brings Prime Video more closely in alignment with the larger amount of ads shown on other streamers such as Hulu, Tubi and Paramount Plus, and it also allows Amazon to sell many more ads in relation to its inventory.
It's unknown whether Prime Video will further increase its ad load, but nonetheless ads on streaming channels will be more and more a major space for revenue growth for streaming services. A recent report from subscription analyst firm Antenna noted that "3 in 4 individuals who face an Ad Choice choose ads" and that nearly half of subscription video-on-demand customers are what Antenna calls "Ad Managers" -- users who select both ad-free and ad-supported tiers.