Amazon Prime Video grows UK ad-supported viewers 15%
Amazon Prime Video has grown its average monthly ad-supported reach 15% year on year to connect with 22m active viewers in the UK, the streaming giant announced at its Upfront showcase in London on Wednesday night.
Recent independent Barb data suggests that this Amazon ad tier audience is around 11.7 million UK households. Prime Video reaches 13.4 million UK households according to Barb, and because it defaults users to its ad tier, 87% of those households receive the ads.
This is compared to Netflix, the UK’s top streaming service by household reach (17.4m), which has only 28% of households (4.8m) on its ad tier.
Meanwhile, following a flurry of deals with competitor streaming services, advertisers can now reach eight out of 10 UK households via Amazon DSP.
The demand-side platform now gives advertisers access to inventory across Prime Video, Twitch, Amazon’s retail businesses, Amazon Publisher Direct, as well as Spotify, Netflix, Disney+ and Roku, among other third-party partners.
“We’re helping to transform how brands connect with consumers by delivreing full-funnel advertising at scale that brings together unmatched reach, audience signals, innovative adtech capabilities, and measurable performance — all in one place,” Piers Heaton-Armstrong, Amazon Ads’ VP, Europe, told the Upfront crowd. “We’re making it easier for brands to connect with their consumers wherever they are in their viewing and shopping journey.”
Separately, Amazon DSP has been announced as the preferred transition partner of Microsoft Invest, which is winding down its service by March of next year.
New ad formats
At its Upfront showcase, Amazon said it plans to expand Fire TV Channels — Fire TV’s native, free ad-supported streaming experience — to the UK on an unspecified date next year. The FAST app launched in the US in 2023.
In addition, Prime Video unveiled new ad formats, including interactive pause ads and interactive video ads.
Notably, Amazon confirmed it has begun development on integrating generative AI capabilities into its video advertising experiences, although initial details were scant. Other UK broadcasters, including ITV and Channel 4, have already begun offering generative AI tools to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help reduce the cost of creative production for TV ads.
Sport and drama headline brand opportunities
Significant time at the 2025 Upfront was dedicated to placing Amazon at the forefront of live sports streaming. Prime Video debuted its UEFA Champions League coverage last year, which it claims attracted 13m viewers in the UK and Ireland.
Amazon has also planted a stake in basketball, with its coverage of the NBA beginning later this month. In all, Prime Video will broadcast 86 regular season games this year in the UK, select first- and second-round playoff games, a conference finals, the 2026 NBA Finals, and the NBA’s London and Berlin games.
Like its streaming competitors, Amazon is betting that live sports provide a boon to its ads business. Amid increasing media fragmentation, sports have remained a lynchpin in media plans seeking to reach large audiences at the same time.
To make it easier for clients to do so, Amazon will offer new programmatic buying opportunities dedicated to the NBA and the Champions League, respectively. The former launches this month, while the latter will be available in January.
Live sports piracy fuels organised crime groups, and EU must toughen stance
Elsewhere at the Upfront presentation, the streaming service highlighted growing opportunities for brands to involve themselves directly in Amazon productions, such as Morrisons’ sponsorship of Clarkson’s Farm.
New programmes were announced and previewed, including Would You Rather: Decide to Survive, a reality competition hosted by Romesh Ranganathan; Bait, a comedy-drama from actor and producer Riz Ahmed, a new Jack Ryan film, and a thriller featuring Sophie Turner and Archie Madekwe, Steal.
Meanwhile, limited series The Girlfriend has been Amazon’s most-watched new scripted series in the UK this year.
“Prime Video isn’t just driving greater audience reach and engagement, it’s home to some of the most-watched ad-supported shows in the country,” Amazon Ads UK MD Phil Christer said. “These exceptional results demonstrate the power of sponsorships to connect brands with high-attention, cultural moments that deliver impact for advertisers”.
This article has been updated after publication with further details from the Upfront event.