Amazon has dropped the option to subscribe to Prime Video, without a full Prime membership, according to a report.
Cord Cutters reports those trying to sign up for the well-hidden subscription option in the UK and the US are now directed to sign-up for the full Prime subscription.
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The tier is handy for those who wanted to stream shows like The Boys, The Rings of Power and, more recently, the brand new Fallout show, without the additional benefits like free, fast delivery of products from Amazon.
It was cheaper too, costing £5.99 in the UK and $8.99 in the US. Considering the number of Prime benefits that are available beyond Prime shipping, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to go for cheaper option – not that Amazon spent much time advertising it.
As the report from Engadget points out, the tier was introduced way back in 2016 as a means of countering Netflix’s offerings. However, while Amazon kept it around, it wasn’t that easy to sign-up for and the option became more difficult over time.
It appears that new subscribers will now have to pay the full £8.99 a month (£95 a year) for a Prime subscription in order to watch Fallout and the like. In the US that’s $14.99 a month or $139 a year. That’s quite the increase, made more stark by the fact the video-only tier never received a price increase while Prime itself increased steadily.
Amazon has already upset some viewers in the UK and the US by making the default subscription an ad-supported experience with the loss of some higher-end AV features.
It appears that existing subscribers won’t be asked to upgrade so if you’re one of the lucky users able to access Prime Video through this means, you’ll likely continue to do so. You can also upgrade. However, Prime members can no longer downgrade to save a couple of quid on their monthly outgoings.
