Amazon Prime Video is set to commence its ad-supported tier across its US service from January 29, 2023.

The move, which allows Prime members to opt for an ad-free experience by paying an additional $2.99 per month, is the first step in a plan to introduce advertising to services across the UK, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and Australia in 2024.

In an email to US members this past week, the media streaming service said ads begin on January 29, setting the official date after an announcement first made in September. Prime members who want to keep their movies and TV shows ad-free will have to pay an additional US$2.99 per month.

"This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time," Prime said in its email to US customers. "We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Prime membership."

As reported in Mi3 Australia in November, Prime's advertising tier is set to commence in Australia in June 2024, with three-month launch packages of $150,000-$250,000 to 5 million members being offered up to Australian brands.

Those who don't want ads can pay an additional $3 per month in their Amazon Prime bundle, which sits at $79 annually or $9.99 monthly and includes free online shopping delivery and Prime Video access. Amazon Prime is understood to be capping ads at four minutes per hour, the same as Foxtel's Binge service.

The trend for ad tiers is stretching across the SVOD market. Disney+ has also introduced an ad tier, Disney+ Basic, at $7.99 per month in the US, with plans to make it available in other countries sometime this year. One year after launch, the company reported 50% of new subscribers had chosen the Disney+ ad tier, with the service seeing 35% increased engagement between March and September 2023.

Paramount+ also announced its intent to launch an ad tier in 2024 back in October.

It's not all smooth sailing, however. Netflix's attempts to introduce its ad-supported plan got off to a stumbling start in Australia after its $6.99 'basic with ads' subscription missed pre-launch projections by 50-70 per cent, according to Mi3 findings.