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Amazon is poised to dominate the advertising upfronts this year, fresh off a string of viewership records and a rapidly expanding portfolio of sports and entertainment content. The tech giant’s christmas night presentation of the Chiefs-Broncos Thursday Night Football game drew over 21 million viewers, marking its most-watched game ever.
The Upfronts Kick off with a Sports focus
The annual Consumer Electronics Show signals the start of the advertising calendar, with media companies preparing for the “upfront” season.
- amazon’s advertising revenue exceeded $17.7 billion in Q3.
- The NBA Cup final between the Spurs and Knicks topped 3 million viewers on amazon.
- The company will host its 2026 upfront event at New York’s Beacon Theater on May 11.
- Amazon is aiming for 100 percent interactivity in its Thursday Night Football advertising.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas traditionally showcases the latest gadgets, but for the media industry, it’s the unofficial launch of the advertising calendar. Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and agency executives converge to discuss plans for the upcoming year, and deals are struck that will shape the landscape of advertising spend.
“It really kicks off our year and our start to the upfront planning,” said the head of live sports and video for Amazon Ads. “When do you get to see all of those customers and agencies in one place focused on how to plan for the year? And considering our sports offering has really grown so much over the last few years, we’re sitting here, you know, having multi sport conversations. Right next year we’ll have the conference finals for the NBA, which we didn’t have this year. So we’re always having a
throughout the day? And it’s proving better performance when we had multiple sports just in that one day with advertisers,” the executive said. “so I think as we think about that proof point, we’ll continue on the multi year offering as we head into the upfront this year. And obviously, you know, that comes with a lot of premium entertainment as well, with all of our Prime Video offerings.”
Looking Ahead to the 2026 Upfront
Amazon confirmed it will once again host an upfront event on the Monday of upfront week, May 11, at New York’s Beacon Theater. The event will showcase Prime Video, Prime Sports, Amazon MGM Studios, Twitch, Wondery, and Amazon Music. The company secured this time slot last year, previously held by Telemundo.
With advertising revenue exceeding $17.7 billion in Q3, 2026 is shaping up to be a meaningful year for Amazon’s ad business. Prime Video is now fully ad-supported,with an option for users to pay a small fee to opt-out,and the company continues to expand this model globally. Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP) now partners with nearly every streaming platform, including Netflix, disney, Peacock, and Spotify, extending its reach beyond the Prime ecosystem. This includes a newly-announced deal with NBC to offer 2026 Winter Olympics inventory.
Amazon is also focused on innovation, notably in the area of interactivity. The company aims to make Thursday Night Football a fully interactive experience for advertisers, with 100 percent of ads featuring interactive elements. “I wouldn’t say we’re at full adoption, but we do have a goal to make Thursday Night Football a fully interactive game for advertisers,” the executive said. “100 percent
