Ads coming to Amazon’s Prime Video in NZ

Amazon’s Prime Video — home of Clarkson’s Farm, The Rings of Power and other streaming hits — will introduce ads to its local service next year.
The move will put more pressure on TVNZ, which recently reported an $85 million loss, followed by rounds of job cuts. The embattled broadcaster’s comeback plan includes a goal to boost digital advertising revenue from about a quarter of total advertising revenue in 2023 to half by 2028 (it grew 8% in FY2024, a slowdown on FY2023′s 14% growth).
Ironically, The state-owned broadcaster is partnering with another wing of the Amazon empire — Amazon Web Services, with its Clean Rooms audience tracking and profiling technology — as part of its bid to boost TVNZ+.
TVNZ+ had a relatively clear run at the ad streaming market — at least in terms of more traditional rivals and streamers — until Sky introduced ads to its Neon service in January. Netflix and Disney have introduced ads in offshore markets, but have so far unveiled no plans for New Zealand.
Sky held the price of Neon’s basic plan at $12.99 a month in January, but with ads now appearing before content or when the pause button was pushed.
To escape most of the ads — bar when pushing pause — required Neon subs to upgrade to a standard plan, the price of which increased from $17.99 to $19.99 in the New Year.
Sky, which has enjoyed initial success with its introduction of ads to Neon (helping to push its ad revenue up 13% in FY2024, defying an overall slowdown in the segment), will also be keeping a close eye on Amazon Prime’s ad push.
Amazon has yet to reveal the pricing for Prime Video after it introduces ads, but across the Tasman it took a similar approach to Sky with Neon. Those who stuck with their (formerly ad-free) A$9.99 ($10.99) a month plan would see ads. Those who paid A$2.99 extra a month would get an ad-free Amazon Prime experience.
“We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
Prime Video currently costs Kiwis $10.99 a month. Amazon says an ad-free option will be added once ads arrive, but has yet to reveal pricing.
In the here and now, Amazon has introduced two new features for Prime Video customers in New Zealand: The ability to rent or buy thousands of movies directly from its app,, includng the likes of Deadpool & Wolverine and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, plus 14 “add-on subscriptions” (detailed in full below).
An add-on sub will cost the same as if you subscribe to a service on the web then watch it on, say, your new Sky Box.
But Amazon says you’ll be able to subscribe to the add-ons from within its Prime Video app. They’ll be single billing, a single sign-on, and unified search and watchlist features across all your content.
Amazon says it’s add-on subscriptions will include, in its own words:
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.