Amazon‘s advertising division has closed its upfront negotiations for 2025-26, reporting ad commitments above internal forecasts and “incremental” volume growth in sports due to NBA’s debut.
Prime Video has been running ads since the start of 2024, signaling the tech giant’s push into the video ad space. Amazon now delivers an upfront presentation to ad buyers alongside those of traditional media companies and tech rivals Netflix and YouTube during a single mid-May spree in New York. While Prime Video is the centerpiece, the company also has emphasized its other venues for brand messages, including podcasts.
A spokesperson for Amazon Ads said in a statement that the unit saw “significant growth across all major holding companies, and particularly strong commitments from independent agencies. We exceeded our own expectations in upfront commitments year over year with new and existing advertisers.”
The company declined to provide figures for total revenue or rates. Overall ad revenue across all of Amazon (beyond Prime Video) hit $56.2 billion last year, up from $46.9 billion in 2023. About $1.8 billion was pledged by buyers in the 2024-25 upfront.
Prime Video’s live sports offering, which took a major step forward with the addition of NFL Thursday Night Football in 2022, is expanding further this fall with the notable addition of weekly NBA games.
The arrival of the NBA helped spur “incremental volume growth,” the spokesperson said.
Films and series like Fallout, Oh. What. Fun, Beast Games, Merv, and Elle generated increased demand for brand partnerships, the company said.
“We will continue to serve as strategic partners to brands, working hard every day to innovate and invent on behalf of our advertising customers,” the spokesperson said.
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