Everything You Need to Know About Using Prime Video's Ad Tier

Prime Video is now looking to extend its ad reach thanks to shows like Reacher. Four months after Amazon said it would be adding ads to Prime Video, the service launched in the U.S. this week, becoming the latest entrant in a crowded AVOD space. Unlike competitors Disney+ and Netflix, Prime Video’s ad tier is opt-out rather than opt-in. Prime Video costs $14.99 per month as a stand-alone service, and consumers can now pay an additional $2.99 per month for an ad-free experience. Prime's service (including Prime Video) has over 200 million paying customers and costs $139 annually. ADWEEK previously reported that Prime Video is coming to market with CPMs (cost per thousand viewers reached) in the mid-to-low $30 range, a more competitive price than other streaming services. The company expects to reach an estimated 115 million monthly viewers in the U.S. at launch. Overall, commercials will arrive in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Canada in early 2024, with other countries later in the year. We spent a few days testing out the new experience, and here’s everything you need to know about using Prime Video with Limited Ads. Exclusive: Inside Prime Video’s Ad Tier Pitch Deck to Media Buyers Rolling out On Monday, users who logged into Prime Video were presented with a pop-up announcing “A change to Prime Video” and given a choice to go ad-free or continue with the new ad-supported plan. Regardless of the choice, the ad rollout was initially slow, in ADWEEK's experience. It was a few hours before viewers saw any ads on the service on smart TVs, though mobile and desktop viewing received ads more quickly. Once ads appear, viewers will experience more basic formats of 15- and 30-second ads, comprising pre- and mid-roll video. The viewing experience Prior to launch, the company didn’t give specific ad loads, but the lowest benchmark for ad time on a streaming platform is around 4 minutes per hour. Reports indicate that Prime Video’s load will be closer to 2 to 3-and-a-half minutes of ads per hour. At launch, ADWEEK experienced closer to 1 to 2 minutes of ads per hour. Each new episode of a series kicks off with an ad pod on all devices. Users on connected and smart TVs were initially presented with 15 to 30 seconds of pre-roll ads, but no mid-roll ads during playback. That changed when viewing content on a computer, where users were served one to two ad pods throughout a series. It’s also worth noting that content downloaded for offline viewing does not include ads, meaning—thus far—viewers can take content on-the-go and maintain an ad-free experience. The brands to watch for Much of Prime Video’s initial advertising included Amazon-owned brands like Ring and Blink, Prime Video content like the Kelce documentary and co-branded content with companies like Hyundai. Amazon didn't comment on brand participation to ADWEEK; however, companies that showed up in viewing included Zipcar, Royal Caribbean, Airbnb, Michelin Tires, TurboTax, BetMGM, Eggland's Best, Mrs. Meyer's, DraftKings, VRBO, Cerave, Priceline, Tinder, HubSpot, Amica, La Roche-Posay, Carnival, Travel Texas, Dior Sauvage featuring Johnny Depp, Energizer, Colgate, Eero and trailers for the upcoming Madame Web film. And with Omdia analysis forecasting that the platform will generate more than $2 billion in additional ad revenue in 2024, plus revenue from advertising slots during live sports broadcasts, users shouldn't be surprised to see several more brands in tow. Frequency and targeting Though frequency caps are certainly in place, ADWEEK noticed the same creative being featured several times in back-to-back ad pods, with a BetMGM commercial featuring Vanessa Hudgens making frequent appearances during episodes of Reacher. ADWEEK previously reported that the Prime Video ad tier will also offer standard demographic targeting at launch and some additional contextual and lifestyle parameters, which seemed to be the case during ADWEEK's viewing experiment. For instance, a viewer who frequently used betting apps saw several ads featuring BetMGM and DraftKings. Others did not see those brands. Additionally, ads can’t be skipped or fast-forwarded, and unlike Netflix, viewers can’t click through all the pods in any given episode and then go back and watch ad-free. Ads also won’t appear on kids and family programming. Final thoughts Overall, ADWEEK experienced minimal interruption with advertising in Prime Video, especially on television, which frequently only had a 15-second pre-roll for Amazon-owned products. Notably, a Prime Video ads product page on the company’s website said the experience will vary based on titles, with some featuring only pre-roll ad breaks. While Prime Video’s ad-tier launch includes only basic formats at the moment, Amazon does have a built-in framework as it runs an ads business on its Amazon Fire, Freevee and Twitch entertainment properties. In the future, Prime Video advertisers expect to be able to find audiences using Amazon’s full arsenal of data, even taking advantage of shoppable experiences. So viewers can expect the ad-tier experience to evolve, especially following the hire of Disney exec Jeremy Helfand to head up Prime Video Advertising.