Amazon is the latest streaming entertainment service that is pushing its members to pay for the privilege of not watching commercials that have been rudely interspersed throughout their favorite movies and TV shows.
Starting early next year, Amazon Prime Video will begin inserting commercials in its entertainment content in what is shaping up to be an industry-wide shift toward ad-supported streaming.
Prime members who don’t want to see commercials will have to pay an additional $2.99 a month on top of their existing Prime membership, which currently costs $139 a year.
A standalone Prime Video membership — which doesn’t come with free-shipping perks — costs $8.99 a month.
This means Prime members who don’t want commercials will see their Amazon bills skyrocket by 26 percent to 33 percent.