At least one Amazon Prime member is furious over the ecommerce company’s move to start playing ads in Prime Video programming — unless customers pay an extra monthly fee.
A lawsuit seeking class-action status accused Amazon of false advertising and deceptive practices because Prime Video now serves commercials by default.
“For years, people purchased and renewed their Amazon Prime subscriptions believing that they would include ad-free streaming,” the lawsuit says. “But last month, Amazon changed the deal. To stream movies and TV shows without ads, Amazon customers must now pay an additional $2.99 per month… This is not fair, because these subscribers already paid for the ad-free version; these subscribers should not have to pay an additional $2.99/month for something that they already paid for.”
The case was filed on behalf of Wilbert Napoleon, a resident of Eastvale, Calif., who says he’s a Prime member. “Plaintiff brings this case for himself and for other Amazon Prime customers,” the suit said. The complain alleged that Amazon violates Washington State and California state consumer protection laws that prohibit unfair competition and deceptive business acts and practices.
Amazon’s conduct, as alleged, “was immoral, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous and substantially injurious to consumers,” according to the lawsuit. The suit seeks unspecific monetary damages, including punitive damages, as well as an injunction to block Amazon’s alleged deceptive conduct.
Asked for comment, an Amazon rep said in an email, “We are unable to comment on pending litigation.”
The suit was filed Feb. 9, after Amazon starting on Jan. 29 began running ads in Prime Video content in major markets including the United States unless users opt to pay extra ($2.99/month in the U.S.) to have an ad-free experience. Some analysts have forecast Prime Video ads generating more than $3 billion in revenue in 2024.
Note that both Netflix and Disney+ recently introduced ad-supported plans. But unlike Amazon Prime Video, those were offered as separate, lower-priced tiers, whereas Prime Video’s default plan now includes ads.
On Amazon’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy told Wall Street analysts that with the introduction of ads by default in Prime Video, “we’ll be able to continue investing meaningfully in content over time.”
“We have increasing conviction that Prime Video can be a large and profitable business on its own, and we’ll continue to invest in compelling exclusive content for Prime members like ‘Thursday Night Football,’ ‘Lord of the Rings,’ ‘Reacher,’ ‘Mr. & Mr. Smith,’ ‘Citadel’ and more,” Jassy said.
The lead counsel in the Prime Video ads lawsuit is Dovel & Luner, a Santa Monica-based law firm that specializes in class-action litigation. A copy of the complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, is available at this link.
