Amazon plans to expand advertising on Prime Video to Brazil, India, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand in 2025.Executives announced the move Tuesday at the annual Amazon Ads “Unboxed” event in Austin, TX, which showcases new products and initiatives.In January 2024, Prime Video introduced ads on series and film originals and library titles in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, UK and the U.S. Subscribers looking to opt out of ads are able to do so by paying an extra $3 a month. The company followed the ad shift by convening its first upfront event for media buyers, during the main week of presentations in New York by legacy media giants as well as Netflix and YouTube.Last month, sources confirmed to Deadline that Amazon exceeded its internal target of $1.8 billion in upfront ad commitments. Live sports, along with popular originals like Fallout and Reacher, have given the video outlet a significant boost. In 2022, the company began exclusive coverage of NFL Thursday Night Football and earlier this year snagged an 11-year deal with the NBA, beginning with the 2025-26 season.While they have gone about it differently, top Amazon and Netflix have decided to enter the ad market as programming expenses continue to climb and the economics of streaming favor large-scale players. Other formerly ad-free rivals like Disney+ and Max have followed suit.Along with pricey sports rights, Prime Video has made significant investments in shows like The Lord of Rings: The Rings of Power and a range of other film and TV titles. Prior to rolling out ads on Prime Video, Amazon already was operating free, ad-supported streaming outlet Freevee and various FAST linear channels. With its portfolio also encompassing Fire TV Channels, Twitch, IMDb, Wondery and Amazon Music, the company says its ad-backed offerings reach an average of more than 200 million global customers on a monthly basis.“We’re excited to offer more brands, in more countries, the opportunity to engage with Prime Video audiences alongside award-winning series and movies, fan favorite titles, and live sports in 2025,” said Alan Moss, VP of Global Ad Sales at Amazon Ads. “Since we introduced Prime Video ads earlier this year, we have been able to help brands and advertisers achieve full-funnel business results thanks to the differentiated value we offer across our premium content, reach, first-party signals, and innovative ad tech.”
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