Amazon’s Prime Video is still the cheapest of the big streaming services in New Zealand - but from March 4 it will no longer be so light on your wallet as its monthly price increases by 38 per cent from $7.99 to $10.99.
Why a price hike so far ahead of inflation? A rep for the firm said it was the first price rise since the service launched in New Zealand in 2016.
Prime content includes Amazon Originals including Reacher, Clarkson’s Farm and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - the first series of which was filmed in New Zealand (supported by a 20 per cent government rebate) before Amazon Studios decamped for Europe.
Netflix, Disney+ and Prime have all recently introduced cheaper, ad-subsidised plans offshore (US$2.99 per month in Prime’s case), but none have announced any plans for commercials in New Zealand. The Prime rep said there were no plans for an ad-supported version of Prime in New Zealand during 2024.
Earlier this month, Sky TV increased the price of a standard plan to its Neon streaming service by 11 per cent from $17.99 to $19.99 per month.
