Amazon Prime Video Raises Prices While Paramount Consolidates BET+ Into Paramount+

Amazon Prime Video is raising the price of its ad-free subscription tier in the United States and moving 4K streaming behind an additional paywall, while Paramount Skydance is buying out filmmaker Tyler Perry's stake in the BET+ streaming service and folding the platform into Paramount+. The two announcements, made within a day of each other, signal continued consolidation and monetization pressure across the streaming industry. The changes to Amazon Prime Video will take effect on April 10, according to reporting by TechRadar and Telepolis. The BET+ transaction was reported by Variety, Deadline, and The Hollywood Reporter on March 13, 2026.

Amazon is rebranding its ad-free Prime Video option and charging more for it, while simultaneously restricting 4K streaming to that higher-priced tier. Previously, 4K content was available to standard Prime subscribers without an additional fee. Starting April 10, viewers who want to watch without advertisements will need to pay for the renamed ad-free tier, and only subscribers to that tier will retain access to 4K picture quality. Amazon is also introducing advertisements to its standard Prime Video service, meaning existing subscribers who do not upgrade will begin seeing ads, according to Antyweb and Gizmodo. The move follows a broader industry trend of streaming platforms introducing ad-supported tiers to grow revenue while keeping base subscription prices nominally accessible. Amazon Prime Video launched as a standalone streaming service in 2016, having previously been bundled exclusively with Amazon Prime membership. The introduction of advertising to previously ad-free streaming platforms accelerated across the industry in the early 2020s, with services including Netflix and Disney+ both launching ad-supported tiers as subscriber growth slowed. The shift toward tiered pricing and 4K paywalls represents a structural change in how major platforms monetize their content libraries.

On the Paramount side, Paramount Skydance announced it is acquiring Tyler Perry's ownership stake in BET+, the streaming service Perry co-founded with BET. Once the transaction closes, BET+ will be phased out as a standalone service and its content library will be merged into Paramount+, according to Variety and Deadline. Perry, an actor, filmmaker, playwright, and comedian known for creating the Madea franchise, had been a co-owner of BET+ since its launch. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Paramount, not a third party, is the buyer of Perry's stake. The deal effectively ends BET+ as an independent streaming destination, consolidating its programming under the Paramount+ umbrella. Financial terms of the buyout were not disclosed in the source articles.

The BET+ consolidation reflects Paramount Skydance's broader strategy of streamlining its streaming portfolio following the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media, which was finalized in August 2025. Running multiple standalone streaming services carries significant operational costs, and merging BET+ content into Paramount+ allows the company to retain the programming while eliminating a separate platform. The move mirrors similar consolidations seen elsewhere in the industry, where media companies have merged or shuttered smaller streaming services to focus resources on flagship platforms. BET+ subscribers will presumably migrate to Paramount+, though specific transition terms for existing subscribers were not detailed in the reporting. Together, the Amazon and Paramount announcements on March 13 and 14, 2026, illustrate the ongoing restructuring of the streaming landscape as companies prioritize profitability over subscriber count growth.