Changes to Amazon Prime Video: New advertising guidelines and lawsuit from the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations. What you should know.

Changes to Amazon Prime Video: New advertising guidelines and lawsuit from the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations. What you should know.

According to a report by www.verbraucherzentrale.de,
Amazon has made changes to Prime Video that are causing anger among users. From January 2024, Amazon will offer its Prime Video users two options: either they accept advertisements when streaming or pay 2.99 euros per month for ad-free content. This change is viewed by consumer advocates as a hidden price increase. The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) has warned Amazon and is now planning to file a lawsuit because the users' consent would be necessary and, in the association's opinion, this is a significant change to the contract.

The introduction of advertising on Prime Video could have an impact on the market and consumers. Customers who want to continue streaming ad-free will have to pay higher fees, which could lead to potentially higher customer churn as they may feel penalized by the additional costs. The lawsuit by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations could lead to a longer legal dispute between Amazon and the association, which could mean additional loss of image for Amazon. A negative outcome to the litigation could also cause other streaming services to reconsider similar fee models, which could lead to further market changes. Overall, the vzbv's planned lawsuit shows that consumer protection organizations are critically observing the increasing commercialization of streaming services and, if necessary, taking legal action to protect the rights of consumers.