• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, June 22, 2023

The issue over 'manipulative' Prime is part of the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against the company when it comes to Amazon Prime, of which Amazon Prime Video is just part of the membership purchase.

The FTC's overall complaint is that Amazon allegedly has been tricking consumers into signing up for the Prime service and then making it difficult to cancel a Prime subscription.

Although Amazon Prime costs $14.99 a month ($139 annually), one can buy just Amazon Prime Video for $8.99. But that may be hard to find on its site.

Unlike virtually all other premium video services, this connection to a major e-commerce service is unique. Many say it gives Amazon a big advantage. 

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates Amazon Prime has 168.6 million U.S. members -- which means all those members are, in theory, “subscribers” of the Amazon Prime Video service. Drilling down it is much tougher to estimate just Amazon Prime Video regular “active” users. 

Yet, Nielsen offers us somewhat of a glimpse. Amazon had a 3.1% share of total day persons two years and older in May -- up from 2.8% level in April -- in its “Gauge” measure.

Prime Video, as part of Prime, obfuscates some important industry metrics. All premium streamers worry about ‘churn’. But Amazon Prime Video -- as part of the big Amazon Prime membership -- would seem to have much fewer issues about losing video subscribers.

Flexibility to signup, drop and rejoin a premium service --- the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+ and all the rest provide -- has been a key part of the consumer experience when it comes to streaming.

If you are waiting for your favorite show to return for another season maybe then you re-sign just days before it comes back. Did fans, of say, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” get to do this recently? Unlikely.

Sure, Amazon does give you the option to cancel, suspend, and re-join Amazon Prime, but what's the numbers around that? And is that all that important to know going forward?

News of a possible advertising-option of Amazon Prime Video might make things easier. After all, isn't transparency for marketers a big thing in media businesses these days?