Ads are coming to Amazon Prime Video Australia in July

You'd be forgiven for feeling like TV streaming seems a lot more like cable telly lately. 

Amazon's Prime Video service will start displaying "limited advertisements" from July 2 this year. 

If you want to avoid the ads, you'll need to sign up for the new ad-free option for an additional $2.99 per month. 

Here are Prime Video's current prices for the monthly and annual plan options:

	Plan	Inclusions	Price	Details
Prime Video	Prime Video Monthly Plan	Prime Video Monthly Plan Features exclusive Amazon Originals as well as popular movies and TV shows Watch on 3 devices at once Watch on 3 devices Deal: 1-month free trial Min. cost $9.99 per month	$9.99/mth Min. cost $9.99 per month	View Plan
Prime Video	Prime Video Annual Plan	Prime Video Annual Plan Features exclusive Amazon Originals as well as popular movies and TV shows Watch on 3 devices at once Watch on 3 devices Deal: 1-month free trial Min. cost $79 per year	$79/year Min. cost $79 per year	View Plan

Going ad-free would cost monthly users $12.98 per month. At this stage, there's no option to buy an annual ad-free package.

As such, customers with an annual Amazon Prime subscription will simply pay an extra $2.99 per on top of their current plan, with the option to toggle it on or off each month.

Interestingly, in a set-and-forget move, Amazon is allowing customers to pre-order ad-free ahead of the July 2 release. Customers won't be charged until July 2 when the offer becomes available. 

So, how many ads will you cop in one sitting? In the same email to Prime members, the streamer re-iterated previous messaging that it aims to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers".

Amazon first announced the change was coming in September last year but Aussie viewers were spared these past few months while testing was conducted in other markets including the US in January.

While nothing has been confirmed for Australia yet, the Verge reported that in the US Prime Video subscribers without ad-free lost access to Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos while streaming. 

Streaming is becoming more expensive and Amazon isn't the only player in the market making changes. Netflix upped its prices in Australia just last week and Disney Plus' prices went up in March. The latter has introduced an ad tier in the US which could arrive in Australia in the future. 

Here's a look at how streaming plans compare in Australia:

Streaming TV Plans

	Plan	Inclusions	Price	Details
Hayu	Hayu Plan	Hayu Plan Stream hundreds of reality shows, ad-free Watch on 1 device at once Watch on 1 device Min. cost $7.99 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$7.99/mth Min. cost $7.99 per month	View Plan
Flash	Flash Plan	Flash Plan Includes 25+ leading global and local news channels Watch on 1 device at once Watch on 1 device Min. cost $8 per month Deal: 14-day free trial	$8/mth Min. cost $8 per month	View Plan
BritBox	BritBox Plan	Britbox Plan The ultimate collection of British comedy and drama, direct from the BBC and ITV Watch on 4 devices at once Watch on 4 devices Min. cost $9.99 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$9.99/mth Min. cost $9.99 per month	View Plan
Prime Video	Prime Video Plan	Prime Video Plan Features exclusive Amazon Originals as well as popular movies and TV shows Watch on 3 devices at once Watch on 3 devices Min. cost $9.99 per month Deal: 1-month free trial	$9.99/mth Min. cost $9.99 per month	View Plan
Binge	Binge Basic Plan	Binge Basic Plan The world's best shows, thousands of hours of shows and movies Ad-free on Demand Watch on 1 device at once Watch on 1 device Min. cost $10 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$10/mth Min. cost $10 per month	Link not supplied
Paramount+	Paramount+ Standard Plan	Paramount+ Plan Includes on-demand and live content from CBS, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and more Watch on 2 devices at once Watch on 2 devices Min. cost $10.99 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$10.99/mth Min. cost $10.99 per month	View Plan
Stan	Stan Basic Plan	Stan Basic Plan Unlimited access to thousands of hours of entertainment, first-run exclusives, iconic series & movies Watch on 1 device at once Watch on 1 device Min. cost $12 per month	$12/mth Min. cost $12 per month	Link not supplied
Apple TV+	Apple TV+ Plan	Apple TV+ Plan Features exclusive Apple Original award-winning series Watch on 6 devices at once with Apple Family Sharing Watch on 6 devices Min. cost $12.99 per month Deal: Try for $3.99 per month for three months. Offer ends April 24	$12.99/mth Min. cost $12.99 per month	View Plan
Disney+	Disney+ Standard Plan	Disney+ Standard Plan With entertainment from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars™, National Geographic, Star and ESPN Watch on 2 devices at once Watch on 2 devices Min. cost $15.99 per month Deal: Save over 16% with an annual subscription	$15.99/mth Min. cost $15.99 per month	View Plan
Netflix	Netflix Standard Plan	Netflix Basic Plan Unlimited movies and TV shows Watch on 2 devices at once Watch on 2 devices Min. cost $18.99 per month	$18.99/mth Min. cost $18.99 per month	Link not supplied
DAZN	DAZN Monthly Plan	DAZN Monthly Plan Watch over 100 fights per year including boxing and MMA, plus UEFA Women's Champions League Watch on 2 devices at once Watch on 2 devices at once Min. cost $29.99 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$29.99/mth Min. cost $29.99 per month	View Plan
Foxtel Now	Foxtel Now Starter Bundle	Foxtel Now Starter Bundle Includes world's best drama, latest entertainment, lifestyle, reality, news & more Watch on 2 devices at once Watch on 2 devices Min. cost $35 per month Deal: 10-day free trial	$35/mth Min. cost $35 per month	View Plan
Kayo Sports	Kayo Premium Plan	Kayo Premium Plan Over 15,000 hours of sport on-demand sport – new content daily Watch on 2 devices at once Watch on 2 devices Min. cost $40 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$40/mth Min. cost $40 per month	View Plan

At present, Prime Video is one of the cheaper streamers available starting at $9.99 per month. When ads arrive in July its plan with ads will end up being $2 more expensive than the equivalent Netflix plan. However, it will still be cheaper to get a plan without ads from Amazon for $12.98 compared to Netflix's $18.99 per month plan. 

There are no other changes to existing Prime member benefits.