Happy New Year from all of us at Recurly, and welcome back to Subscriptions Weekly! For the first issue of 2024, we review Amazon’s decision to include ads in Prime Video and how much it would impact its revenue. Also, while a handful of consumers are canceling streaming services, others rely on subscriptions to achieve their health and wellness goals with Apple Fitness+. Let’s dive in!

Ads are coming to Amazon Prime Video in late January

Starting January 29, movies and TV shows on Prime Video will include limited advertisements. Unlike other streaming services that have introduced cheaper ad-supported tiers, Amazon is automatically including ads for all customers of its Prime membership. Consumers can get commercial-free Prime Video through a new option that costs an extra $2.99 monthly on top of Prime membership. Read more on Stream TV Insider.

Prime Video ads may bring Amazon another $5 billion a year

Amazon announced that it would insert ads into its streaming content in late January. Those extra payments should generate around $1.8 billion for Amazon, on top of the roughly $3 billion in video ads Amazon will sell. The report estimates that 70% of subscribers will choose to sit through commercials and avoid the extra fee. Lean more on PYMNTS.

Apple Fitness+ introduces sound meditation, a workout program for golfers, and more

As consumers rely on subscriptions to help hit their health and wellness goals, Apple kicks off 2024 with new content for its workout service Fitness+, including a new meditation theme, a yoga program for golfers, artist spotlights with Super Bowl Halftime Show performers, and new celebrity guests for its audio walking experience “Time to Walk.” Read more on TechCrunch.

📅 Reserve your copy: The 2024 State of Subscriptions report

Uncover benchmarks and predictions drawn from Recurly’s database of more than 2,200 global brands and 64 million unique subscribers in our State of Subscriptions report, crafted to provide unique insights and trends to guide your growth strategy in 2024. Join the waitlist.

📣 Save your spot! The 2024 State of Subscriptions virtual event

Join us on February 1st to hear from industry leaders at Recurly and Optimized Payments as they unveil key benchmarks, actionable insights, and data-driven predictions for the new year. Save your spot.

From the Recurly blog