Amazon would like to expand its prime video business in 2025 by introducing advertisements in five new major markets including India. The ads in India will be limited. Already, Amazon includes ads on Prime Video in the USA, the UK, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico and Spain. There is an option to viewers in these countries to receive an ad free feed by paying. The same model will apply to the new countries being added this year. There will be an ad-free option at a price.

Netflix too is considering a free ad-supported tier in India. It is also testing pause ads. Amazon’s ad supported feed will help brands connect with new audiences.

Since streaming costs are on the rise, it was just a matter of time before Amazon Prime changed its traditional model to include ads. It is not possible to scale up subscription model beyond a point.

India has 547 million OTT users, but active paid subscriptions remain stagnant at 99.6 million (Ormax OTT Audience Report, 2024). Ad supported video (AVOD) has grown 21 per cent as compared to previous year. However, subscription-based video on demand (SVOD) has reported a growth of just 13 per cent. Growth has slowed down, since most people who can afford subscriptions already have them. To grow, companies must attract new audiences and encourage current subscribers to buy more subscriptions. On an average, a city dweller, has four subscriptions. That is a tough call.