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NEW YORK — If you are an Amazon Prime Video user, get ready to see ads on movies and TV shows starting next month.
Prime will include ads beginning on Jan. 29, the company said in an email to U.S. members this week, setting a date for an announcement it made back in September. Prime members who want to keep their movies and TV shows ad-free will have to pay an additional $2.99.
Amazon is also planning to include advertisements in its Prime service in the United Kingdom and other European countries, as well as Canada, Mexico and Australia next year.
The tech giant follows other major streamers — such as Netflix and Disney — who have embraced a dual model that allows them to earn revenue from ads and also offer subscribers the option to opt out with a higher fee.
Amazon said in its email that it will "aim to have meaningfully fewer ads" than traditional TV and other streaming providers.
The ads, the company said, "will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time."
