Published Mar 18, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT
Thomas Butt is a senior writer. An avid film connoisseur, Thomas actively logs his film consumption on Letterboxd and vows to connect with many more cinephiles through the platform. He is immensely passionate about the work of Martin Scorsese, John Ford, and Albert Brooks. His work can be read on Collider and Taste of Cinema. He also writes for his own blog, The Empty Theater, on Substack. He is also a big fan of courtroom dramas and DVD commentary tracks. For Thomas, movie theaters are a second home. A native of Wakefield, MA, he is often found scrolling through the scheduled programming on Turner Classic Movies and making more room for his physical media collection. Thomas habitually increases his watchlist and jumps down a YouTube rabbit hole of archived interviews with directors and actors. He is inspired to write about film to uphold the medium's artistic value and to express his undying love for the art form. Thomas looks to cinema as an outlet to better understand the world, human emotions, and himself.
The strange and unpredictable world of streaming never stays quiet for too long. In a major turn of events, Amazon recently announced that its Prime Video streaming service is launching a new subscriber tier titled "Prime Video Ultra," which will provide movies and TV shows in high-quality 4K resolution, four times the resolution of standard HD, with an additional boost from Dolby Atmos sound.
Ad-Free Streaming on Prime Video Is Experiencing a Price Increase
This new tier, which also includes increased availability for offline viewing and concurrent streams (100 downloads compared to 25 and five concurrent users compared to three), will replace the current "Prime Video Ad Free" model. Here's the catch: this tier will cost ad-free users an additional $4.99 per month. Starting on April 10, watching Prime Video without ads will cost users $19.99 a month. That's right, another hike in fees for anyone who wants to enjoy their favorite movies or shows without being pestered by two-minute ad breaks.
The cost for the new Prime Video Ultra tier comes in at $19.99 per month, a significant hike from the original $14.99 cost for ad-free users. For those on an annual plan, the charge will increase by $45.99. The notable benefits of Prime Video Ultra are Ultra HD and 4K quality picture and sound by Dolby Atmos, something not included in the original ad-free tier. Outside of 4K, Dolby, more concurrent streams, and available offline downloads, the streaming experience stays the same.
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Hikes in subscription fees are as synonymous with streaming as password sharing, algorithms, and the curtailment of theatrical exhibition. Every major streamer, including Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and now Prime Video, has been consistently increasing fees as quietly as possible. With Netflix doubling down on live events and podcasts, the streamer has increased the cost of subscriptions to $24.99 per month for a premium ad-free experience. HBO Max also enforced a $2 increase on ad-free programming, costing users another $22.99 monthly rate. While the cost of Disney+'s premium tier remains the same, the streamer raised the cost of ad-supported services by $2 in 2025.
Price Hikes and Advertising Have a Long-Term Impact on Streaming
In the media and showbiz industry today, the worst news for consumers revolves around corporate consolidation and other mergers, headlined by Paramount's recent successful bid for Warner Bros. Even without official business acquisitions, these companies are homogenizing by their shared goal of boosting the price of subscription fees. The option of various bundles, notably the Disney Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max combo, streaming has been gradually reverting to the old cable model of home entertainment that it once tried to revolutionize. Eventually, with all the major platforms following the same business model and approach to licensing pre-existing material and creating original content, we'll all end up paying for all streamers under one roof.
Repeated price hikes by all streamers are trying to bait customers into paying for ad-supported tiers for a price that was formerly ad-free. By having a never-ending pipeline for advertisements embedded into episodes of Reacher or The Boys, profits will continue to roll in. Streaming was supposed to be cutting-edge and an exciting alternative to the decaying cable model, but the influx of advertising has eliminated its viability as a product in our culture, as the general audience's attitude towards streaming seems to be at an all-time low. Each passing year, advocates for physical media are more justified in their steadfast determination to retain old-school media preservation.
"Delivering ad-free streaming with premium features requires significant investment, and this structure aligns with other major streaming services while ensuring customers have the flexibility to choose how they want to watch," Amazon said in announcing the new premium tier offering 4K resolution on the platform. Once again, this mirrors the strategy of their competitors, as Netflix and HBO Max's price hike comes with a bonus of 4K quality at this price level. At the very least, the commitment to high-quality video presentation is an encouraging sign that streamers are mildly interested in preserving the artistic nature of a movie or TV show.
As Amazon continues producing original movies, such as Red One, The Accountant 2, Mercy, and the upcoming Project Hail Mary, as well as investing in live sports, notably their recent partnership with the NBA, these price jumps have become an inevitability. The streaming bubble continues to inflate in size, but at some point, this bubble is destined to pop.
English (US) ·