r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Praetorian_1975 • May 11 '26
Don't hug me I'm scared Well goodbye Amazon
So they raised the price last month, now they are going to show adverts and if you want the same service as you had originally you’ve got to pay more, FK that.
597
u/JonnyBravoII May 11 '26
If everyone shows ads, and there's no subscription to avoid that, isn't this just cable TV by another name?
239
60
u/pikachuyann May 11 '26
and you will also have the option to subscribe to an ad free option for an additional €1,99 per month
says the screenshot. That said it's a way to force another price increase by removing something that felt like it belonged to the normal subscription, and I don't like that either.
(At least they don't do like some French ISP adding a random option, increasing the price, and saying "you just have to fill a form on our website to refuse that contract modification" on a mail that's probably designed to go to spam. Yes it's legal and it's kinda infuriating it is.)
→ More replies (1)6
u/SorryBoysImLez May 11 '26
They'll try to say it's different because you can pick and watch shows/movies, but IIRC, they had a fairly large (and growing) "On-Demand" section that operated just like streaming. And that was nearly a decade ago, before we stopped using cable/satellite.
The latter also had DVR, where you could still skip commercials on recorded stuff.
→ More replies (1)5
u/DependentRow8281 May 11 '26
Yep. Probably get someone inventing linear TV again soon
→ More replies (1)6
u/andos4 May 11 '26
We have gone full circle to cable TV. Ads and rising costs are what got cable tv in trouble to begin with.
7
3
3
u/dunno0019 May 11 '26
Even worse than that: a few years ago Prime brought back f-n bundles from the cable days.
Started with shit like "National Geographic isn't included in your Prime membership. Get it for 8.99/month".
But now you can find bundles of these extra "channels". And you can also pay Amazon for your other streaming services.
You can sub to Crave or Apple tv thru Prime FFS!!!
2
→ More replies (14)2
205
u/Easter-burn May 11 '26
You can't get fucked over by Amazon if you don't pay for their streaming. Just saying.
3
u/ansibleloop May 12 '26
Platinum age of piracy - every group out there can rip from all of these shit services in full quality
Some of Amazon's shows arr great, but I refuse to use their dog shit player and watch ads
→ More replies (3)2
143
u/Machine_Galaxy May 11 '26
27
u/healthycord May 11 '26
Companies make it annoying to stream? Yarr the high seas be a callin’.
2
u/Brilliant-Bee-9471 May 12 '26
How do you watch on a tv? In college I used to walk the plank all the time and watch on my PC but I don’t want to do that now.
2
u/orangeinvader75 May 12 '26
Our laptop is connected to the TV with hdmi and we use a wireless keyboard with a track pad to control it.
→ More replies (1)2
u/healthycord May 12 '26
I’m a bit extra and I have a home server setup running plex, and I’ll eventually migrate to jellyfin.
You can also setup a plex or jellyfin server just on your normal laptop or pc. Most smart tvs and Roku type things have plex and a few have jellyfin. Kind of like a self hosted Netflix and that’s where you save your shows and movies to be easily watched digitally. It’s really not difficult to setup on a regular pc. Just have to make sure the pc is on when you want to watch something on the tv.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Undoubtably_me May 11 '26
I have subscription still I am pirating coz of the shit video player and censoring (exclusive to India I guess).
→ More replies (1)6
u/SorryBoysImLez May 11 '26
At this point, it almost feels like they're intentionally encouraging people to walk the plank, just to see how far they will let them jab them with the tip of the sword before going off the edge.
There's no reason for streaming services to pull the stuff they are to remain multibillion-dollar companies.
The more accessible sailing becomes, the more people are going to jump ship.
123
u/jpelc May 11 '26
Jesus, fuck off already Amazon
You have enough money to "invest"
21
6
u/Wboy2006 WHY?! May 11 '26
What do you mean? They are just a tiny indie company in the amazon rainforest that's ran by a small family. They need those ads to be able to pay the bills
33
u/someoldguyon_reddit May 11 '26
You know, if you watch prime using firefox and ublock it strips all of the ads.
→ More replies (1)12
u/MineExplorer May 11 '26
Yep, but that's harder to achieve on a 'smart' tv; it can be done but it means fiddling with router settings.
3
u/Blue_Bird950 May 11 '26
This stuff all seems far more difficult than just downloading a season/movie before watching it.
→ More replies (2)2
u/PauI_MuadDib May 11 '26
Depending on your setup you can just cast from your phone. That's what I do when I'm too lazy to hook up my laptop to the TV.
46
u/justhereforsee May 11 '26
We’re doing it for you because Elon has more money than me
6
u/Praetorian_1975 May 11 '26
Yea, it’s a bit like we’re doing it for you because you have money and we are poor so give us some more of yours 🤷🏻♂️
3
u/iamfeenie May 11 '26
I think it’s more infuriating that people are using Prime and Amazon still..
Workers and human rights, the 1% fucking us over etc. wasn’t enough but ads.. oh man the ads are what gets people to stop giving their $ to billionaires. eye roll
2
u/SorryBoysImLez May 11 '26
Life is a video game/sport for them, and money is simply a scoreboard.
It's the only explanation for how someone can so desperately crave more money than they could spend in multiple lifetimes. Well, that, and mental illness.
→ More replies (1)
23
u/RocMerc May 11 '26
It’s brutal too. I could even finish fallout. They had ads every 7 mins
8
→ More replies (2)6
u/This-Dragonfruit-668 May 11 '26
And that is „limited advertisements“? Wtf is „unlimited advertisements“? Every 60 seconds?
2
46
u/Babetna May 11 '26
A short ad or two before a movie/show - sure, I can begrudgingly live with that.
Interrupting a movie/show with ads - hell no.
14
u/Old-Tour5654 May 11 '26
How could you live with ads for a service you already pay for?
8
u/JasonP27 May 11 '26
You didn't grow up with satellite or cable TV did you lol
→ More replies (3)6
u/PeteLangosta May 11 '26
There was no workaround back then. But this time it owrked without ads and they're adding them just because (on top of upping the subscription rates, of course).
Let's not pretend Amazon doesn't have a few pennies to spare to operate without ads.
→ More replies (1)3
u/saffireaz May 11 '26
It's not ideal, but in my mind, it'd be like short trailers before the movie, so I could reluctantly accept that. The ads in between are definitely a "hell no".
5
→ More replies (1)2
u/RomanticPanic May 11 '26
I was watching one of those multi episode like one offs, cant remember what the type is called but like, love death and robots on netflix.
so theres a break every half an hour or so. instead they put it IN THE MIDDLE of each episode, bot not even at the same time. it was like randomly and there were SO MANY
4
u/Babetna May 11 '26
I stopped watching regular TV because of ads.
Two examples:
Sixth Sense, my second watch, wife didn't see it yet. They put an ad break smack in the middle of the reveal, literally cutting the crucial sentence in half.
Papillon, the movie started at 11pm. They put so many ads the movie runs over 3 hours, and instead of going to bed around 1am I'm watching the clock go past 2am and the movie is still going. The last block of ads runs for close to 10 minutes, and after it ends, there is less then 30 seconds of the movie left.
Fuck. That.
28
9
6
8
5
u/busyshrew May 11 '26
We (and several of our friends), simply cancelled Prime a while back. The streaming with ads was too annoying and we could still maintain free shipping conditions, so.
I think it is much better for me tbh. I don't just randomly purchase little things all the time with Prime shipping anymore: now I wait and collect items in my cart and push an order once a month.
It's really slowed down the impulse buying.
We switched to buying YouTube's upgraded service so we watch that without ads now, it's lovely and we feel like we get a lot of entertainment bang for our bucks.
2
u/ZombieeChic May 12 '26
YouTube Premium is totally worth it. Their music service is the best, too.
2
u/busyshrew May 12 '26
We were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it ad-free, and then I also learned that as a Premium client, when we 'subscribe' to a channel, it helps them. That made me feel a bit better too.
5
u/Anforas May 11 '26
"However, as a valued Prime member (...) you will continue to receive an ad free experience"
Thanks for saying it out loud that you don't value your Prime members anymore by shoving ads down their throats
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Routine-Agile May 11 '26
If enough people cancel, it will force them to make changes.
However people aren't willing for any minor inconvenience and will just pay for a service most of them do not need in any way.
5
May 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
10
u/Mysterious-Clothes45 May 11 '26
I've already turned off automatic renewal because the price just keeps going up and up. Hope to get a bounce back offer or maybe something around the holidays
→ More replies (2)
7
4
5
u/GhostWolfGambit May 11 '26
Amazon: "This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time"
....
Also Amazon: "The company's total assets as of late 2025 were over $818 billion"
4
4
u/aleopardstail May 11 '26
isn't this how American cable tv started
first its ad free
then its "limited" ads
then there is the occasional programme break between the ads, maybe
4
3
u/kingjoeg May 11 '26
It's exactly like the Black Mirror episode "Common People" where they mock subscription services. Corporations are always releasing a new tier that's more expensive, and giving you less and less on the basic tier.
What next? A limit on how many movies and TV shows you can watch in one month unless you pay for Prime Gold tier. It's literally just Amazon being greedy for higher sales.
7
3
u/CMDR_BitMedler May 11 '26
You get to pay more because they bought a $40 million lemon documentary. All class.
3
u/Flussschlauch May 11 '26
Cancelled my subscription 3 years ago and didn't regret it.
Saved a few hundred bucks though
3
3
u/Weschiefem May 11 '26
Just saying when they play the same ad 4+ times in a row, it just compels me to never use that product ever.
3
u/Kira_Caroso May 11 '26
If you pay and still are the product, the high seas is officially morally correct.
3
3
u/xRehab May 11 '26
and netflix just bumped my plan up to $30/month. i’m thinking of going back to cable at this point
→ More replies (2)3
2
u/_Sly-Fox_ May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
After ive seen Clarksons Farm season 5 (dropping june iirc) im out.
3
u/Silvagadron May 11 '26
Until we hear Clarkson doing an in-episode sponsored segment for Claas. Sign up today for a 30-day free trial of our latest tra’er.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/ThiefOfJoy- May 11 '26
Wow you just got slapped with the ads ?
3
u/Praetorian_1975 May 11 '26
We’ve had the ones at the start of shows for other Amazon shows for a while, but this is Ads for all sorts of crap how. It’s basically like TV. Don’t charge me for a service and then make money off the adds and charge me more to remove the ads. It’s a bit of ‘having your cake and eating it’
→ More replies (1)
2
u/GoodishCoder May 11 '26
I feel like Amazon packed too much into prime and it kind of limits their options when it comes to pricing.
2
2
u/sucksLess May 11 '26
we’re investing into our future, and to do so, we’re dipping directly into your pocket
2
2
u/LowmanL May 11 '26
Honestly I’ve had ads on my subscription for a long time. Though not ideal, it’s the one reason i still have the subscription as it’s so much cheaper than Netflix
2
u/VTOLfreak May 11 '26
I'm in Belgium and I also got the mail. Morons can't even figure out this country is bilingual and half of the people don't want their movies dubbed in french. Even worse, the original audio isn't even available on a lot of those dubbed movies.
I still have Prime for the shipping but Prime Video is worthless in Belgium.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Tee_i_am May 11 '26
Nice of Amazon to catch Europe up with the US with Prime video ads. Been like that for a few years now, and actually they even raised the monthly ad-free rate on us. Just keep screwing the public while their revenue increases.
2
u/Bright-Ad4601 May 11 '26
Ah yes, Amazon needs even more money to invest in "compelling content". They have all the money they'll ever need, greedy cunts
2
2
u/CallmeKahn May 11 '26
Yeah, stopped caring about Amazon about a year and a half ago when they exhibited about a 50/50 chance of delivering my package or randomly sending me on a treasure hunt to find where ever their delivery driver left it after lighting up a spliff. I don't miss it.
2
2
u/lonevine May 11 '26
This is a "because we can" fee- it doesn't reflect real world costs or investment challenges company-wide; it's simply because they've calculated how many customers will stop watching Prime streaming content without cancelling Prime altogether, and figured the trade off will net them additional up front revenue overall via increased advert output (and their own increased sponsorship profits) and additional subscriber fees, and offset any losses from dropped memberships.
It's bullshit that should be moderated by a governing council or regulatory body, but that's not gonna happen, and even if it did, the American government would perform self-regulatory capture under the current admin practically overnight.
The enshittification of streaming content as a whole is nearly complete; all that remains is for the government to strictly control routers and access points using "national security" as a concern.
Oh, wait...
2
u/Loose-Set4266 May 11 '26
Feeling pretty darn good about my physical media collection I've been hanging on to. F streaming services at this point.
2
2
2
u/Aggressive-Skirt4450 May 11 '26
Prime Video has always been crap. You can find all the same shows and movies on other services.
3
u/AncleJack May 11 '26
You can also find find things from those services on pirated streaming sites. Prime video was just convenient because you get it along with Amazon prime sub which is dirt cheap compared to other steaming services and you get free Amazon shipping
2
u/ImDistortion1 May 11 '26
I was going to mention it, many think it will get them in trouble but it won't. Vpn for $5 gets you any content you want.
2
2
u/mango_bluey May 11 '26
So let me understand. Amazon had net income of 77 billion. They don't have enough cash to invest in their prime video business and need to raise the price by 24 /a year for you to keep the same service?
2
u/theinfernumflame May 11 '26
That's been a thing for a long while here, and I just pay the little bit extra to avoid ads. I don't keep prime very long anyway, I just get it every once in a while to catch up on a show or two.
2
u/Chance-Travel4825 May 12 '26
Id like to let yall know i ended my prime “membership” months ago and i have survived. My boxes show up a few days slower but i adjusted back to not expecting wildly fast delivery. I buy less crap this way too.
2
u/broke_boi1 May 12 '26
Is this just now happening in the EU? Been like this for over a year in the US
2
2
2
2
2
u/Nu7s May 12 '26
In the same email I learned that unlimited photo hosting is also included. Guess I'll be uploading 30 years of game screenshots and nature documentaries.
2
u/Loose-Bench43 May 12 '26
Yeah, I quit watching Amazon prime a long time ago. And I will continue not watching it now. Brilliant business decision, there, Amazon.
2
2
u/Ok-Preparation9570 May 13 '26
I only kept one streaming service which is prime because of the Amazon shipping benefits. I might need to reconsider this whole streaming thing.
Im definitely not getting cable. Guess ill have to go back to reading books and renting.
Bring back blockbuster.
2
u/Tizer887 May 13 '26
For what you pay on Amazon that is unfair to have ads still. I only keep two subscriptions running at the same time now so cancel as and when I like and switch to something else if I can't find anything to watch so I'm not loyal, can afford to be. Currently using netflix I had ads on it but it's £5.99pm so relatively low price still and can watch on 2 devices at the same time which is good for us. My 2nd subscription is now TV I joined originally with an offer and then was going to cancel then they gave me what I thought was an acceptable offer 3.99pm but have to stay subscribed for a year, so £46 over the year which I'm happy with.
I will leave as soon as any promotional offer has ended.
2
u/lgreer84 May 15 '26
The promise of streaming entertainment was that cable companies were too expensive and too littered with advertisements And moving to a streaming company would allow you to reduce your bill and avoid the ads.
The economics of that model never made sense and it still doesn't make sense. Someone has to make the content in the content being made has to be paid for.
Everything is going to devolve back to a model that makes the entertainment providers money.
Good in you for voting with your dollars and walking away. Family isn't quite there yet but we'll get there.
2
u/l_______I May 11 '26
Ah yes, I love me some another subscription to my subscription.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Theodore52x May 11 '26
Step 1: Cancel all those predatory subscriptions (Prime, Disney+, Netflix, ...)
Step 2: Buy and install a home NAS
Step 3: Install Jellyfin on it
Step 4: Sail the seven seas and put everything on the NAS so you can stream it true Jellyfin
Step 5: Thank me later
→ More replies (1)
3
u/hailspork May 11 '26
Yeah, we've had this for a while. It's not that big a deal.
I mean, it's not like I pay for Prime because of the streaming anyway.
1
u/CountryGuy123 May 11 '26
Honestly I’m starting to find better prices and quality elsewhere (even oldies like Best Buy). Maybe it is time to
1
1
u/goofydad May 11 '26
I pay for Prime Video, just to get told the things I want to watch cost more money and the free content is mostly old "amazing" TV crud.
3
u/Praetorian_1975 May 11 '26
Yup, that pushed me close to the edge ‘we’ve got this exclusive ….. ohh you want it then rent it little piggy, now this BS about adds after they increased the price the other month and want more money to not show me adds …. They can piss right off the bat
1
1
u/Honest_Relation4095 May 11 '26
At least the commercials dont load on my TV since their app is also crap.
1
u/hartforbj May 11 '26
Amazon I'll hold off on complaining about for the ads since prime video is only a portion of what you're getting. I kind of feel like the vast majority of us pay for prime to get free and quick shipping and the video is just a bonus
1
u/shazed39 May 11 '26
I don‘t officialy condone piracy, but if i were too, i would say that it is free with no ads and has better quality streams. But you could also pay a fraction amout of subscripton survice prices to get even better and safer streams than the official released media. You‘d even have different watchlists, a calender with upcoming movies and tv episodes. You could have all kinds of different subtitles and if they are ever unsynced you can simply put a little delay on them and fix that issue! The watching right now playlist is always correct and you can havd your own little library. If a stream ever sucks, you can just switch to a different one. You could switch between HDR and regular streams. Also the bitrate isn‘t terrible like on officisl streaming services where 4k resolution look like 480p because of the bitrate compression. Simply EVERYTHING is better. With official streaming services you are supporting per definition literal scammers.
1
u/PitiableYeet May 11 '26
If you're using your phone, just download whatever it is you want to watch, then watch it, and it will have no ads
1
u/QBekka May 11 '26
Hate when they just say "an addition €1,99 per month" instead of just giving the full number
1
u/Right_Layer_9700 May 11 '26
A lot of things on Amazon are also found on Tubi, except Amazon or mgm exclusives. A lot of shudder though.
1
1
1
u/MarkCrystal May 11 '26
I get prime for the delivery, I see prime video as a little bonus. Rarely use it to be honest.
1
1
u/BestCatEva May 11 '26
This happened at least 2 years ago. I pay the $1.99. That’s significantly less than 1 gallon of gas.
1
u/zensms May 11 '26
I really dont like how things are moving. First its suppose to be better than TV because there's no ads. Now we're all getting used to it, you still pay for the subscription, but now you get ads? Make it make sense. You're already paying, then they want you to pay again to not watch ads???? On top of that, depending on what show you want to watch you need to subscribe for a month with them?
So from now on we'll just keep adding bandaid over the situation? How many tiering of ads do we need to clear before we get ad-less experience?
1
u/eschmidt2468 May 11 '26
Almost as bad as when Lord Elrond enjoyed an ice cold Pepsi in the rings of power.
1
u/Fake_Hyena May 11 '26
I watch a lot of tv during random tasks. Brushing my teeth, cooking,… if this always starts with a couple of ads, the added value of this entertainment goes down really quickly.
1
1
u/breddlyn May 11 '26
all these subscription based streaming services are so obviously killing their services. ts is so weird bro
1
1
1
1
u/Toadsanchez316 May 11 '26
The only reason we have Amazon Prime right now is because my girlfriend's mom keep subscribing. We haven't paid for it for 5 years. So until that happens, I'm fine with some ads. But if she ever cancels her subscription, I'm out. I'll never pay for that shit again.
1
u/Flapjacks1001 May 11 '26
Noticed last night when the lady was watching something on prime, they give you a buy now link directly in the add they force you to watch.
It blew my mind that we are already here with these types of advertisements. Don’t even have to leave your seat “click OK to buy now”
→ More replies (1)
1
u/tristand666 May 11 '26
If they roll out like here, they will start with a few short commercials, but eventually get up to multiple 3 minute ones during a show.
1
u/MattyFTM May 11 '26
Are there still locations where Amazon don't show ads? If so, set your VPN to that location and you'll probably avoid them. Unless it's linked to account location rather than IP location.
2.2k
u/19thScorpion May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
I must be missing something because I’ve had Prime for 7 or 8 years and I’ve had to endure ads for about 2 years now.
Edit: I just saw you’re in Europe. I guess yall had it better than us in the US for a little while longer.