Amazon Prime Video Rolls Out Ad-Free Upgrade in India: Pricing, Launch Date and More

Amazon Prime Video is changing the game for Indian viewers.Starting June 17, 2025, Prime Video subscribers in India will begin seeinglimited advertisements on TV shows and movies—unless they opt for a new ad-freeupgrade, priced separately.

This shift comes as Amazon aligns its video streaming modelwith global and regional industry trends. While the core Amazon Primemembership remains priced at ₹1,499 per year, users who prefer uninterruptedcontent can now subscribe to an ad-free add-on, available for ₹129 per month or₹699 annually.

In emails to its subscribers, Amazon stated: "This willallow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing thatinvestment over a long period of time. We aim to have meaningfully fewer adsthan TV channels and other streaming services. No action is required fromyou."

The optional ad-free tier gives users the freedom to choose.However, it also signals the end of completely ad-free content under the basePrime membership.

With this move, Amazon is now following a tieredsubscription model similar to rivals like Disney+ Hotstar, which offers bothad-supported and premium ad-free plans. Hotstar’s Premium tier starts at₹299/month or ₹1,499/year, although it still includes ads during live sports.Meanwhile, Netflix continues to offer all of its plans ad-free, ranging from₹149/month for mobile users to ₹649/month for 4K streaming across multipledevices.

Amazon also offers a Prime Lite subscription, which includesaccess to Prime Video content at 720p resolution with ads. However, it remainsunclear whether users on this plan will be able to access the new ad-freeadd-on.

As India’s digital streaming market becomes morecompetitive, with growing consumer demand for high-quality, uninterruptedcontent, Amazon’s strategy is both timely and telling. The introduction of adsin standard Prime plans could nudge price-sensitive users toward alternativeslike JioCinema, which offers competitive pricing, or prompt existingsubscribers to consider upgrading.

Still, Amazon assures viewers that the advertisingexperience will be minimal, especially compared to traditional TV or otherplatforms. Whether this reassurance will be enough to maintain user loyaltyremains uncertain. In summary, the era of ad-free streaming as a default forPrime Video users in India is coming to a close. Going forward, seamless,uninterrupted viewing will come at an added cost.