Amazon Prime Users in Louisiana, This Free Perk Has Gone Away

Louisiana shoppers who have paid a little extra for the perceived benefits of being a member of Amazon Prime might want to reconsider their choice. The company announced that as of Monday, one of the "free perks" of being an Amazon Prime member had gone away.

I am not sure how you can call something a "free perk" when you have to pay for the service to get it, but those are Amazon's words, not mine. It's also quite ironic that the disappearance of one of the top five reasons to be a part of Amazon Prime is going away just months after the company announced it would be raising its rates to customers by three dollars a month.

For many the "prime" benefit of having Amazon Prime is to save shipping costs. At least that's what I was told we got it at my house. I prefer to walk into a store in my hometown to buy the things I need but I realize sometimes a local retailer won't have exactly what I am looking for. According to NerdWallet for the low low price of $139 a year, I can get all "primed up" with Amazon but alas, one of my favorite reasons for having the service was the one they decided to drop. Well, drop unless you are willing to pay more.

What Perk of Amazon Prime is Going Away?

In addition to the shipping deals that you get with Amazon Prime, the service also includes the ability to stream movies and television shows without commercial interruption. You're now going to have to sit through "limited advertisements" unless you want Jeff Bezos to get $3 more dollars from you every month.

Amazon sent details on this change in policy to subscribers back in September. Those folks who read the notice weren't really happy about it. Many people that I know said they would be dropping the service and switching to another platform. I doubt they will because of one very simple observation.

Netflix and YouTube are Doing it Too

Netflix, after revealing their 4th quarter earnings report announced they would be sunsetting ad-free streaming from their basic plans as well. The company says the ad plans account for about 40% of their new accounts so they project Mr. Bezos will be able to build another rocket if he wants.

Meanwhile, YouTube has already cracked down on viewers who use ad-blockers on their content. You only get three "watches" using ad-blocker software before the platform disables your ability to playback and watch content. You could opt for the YouTube Premium service though and not be subjected to advertisements for the monthly fee of $13.99.

How Much of Your Money Will Go to Streaming Services in the Years Ahead?

The folks at Digital TV Research suggest that advertising-supported revenue on platforms such as Prime Video, YouTube, and Netflix was about $6 billion in 2023. That amount is expected to rise to $20 billion by 2029 so it's no wonder why they are doing what they do.

But on the positive side, Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube are all producing great content that you can't get on "regular TV", so for a lot of viewers sitting through a commercial isn't that big of a deal to get some of the shows and series that are killing it at the awards shows these days.

And besides, you can always use the commercials as your bathroom break, a chance to go to the kitchen for a snack, or you can just watch it and wonder "Who buys this crap", that's the one I pick most of the time.

Or you could spend your time engaged in the "chill" part of Netflix and chill if you know what I mean.