Amazon Sees ‘Strong’ Upfront Market, Despite Signals of Caution

Many advertising executives say it’s too early to figure out whether the annual “upfront” sales season will be robust for video companies. Alan Moss thinks he’s already in the moment.

“The upfront market is strong this year,” says Moss, vice president of global sales for Amazon Ads, during a recent interview. There may be some worries tied to macroeconomic factors, including fuel prices and the direction of the U.S. conflict with Iran, he says, but “there are always headlines” that may give marketers pause. Nonetheless, he says, “we are seeing really positive signals. It will be a healthy upfront season.”

Related Stories

Naomi Watts to Star as Ballerina Margot Fonteyn in Romantic Drama 'Margot & Rudi,' With WestEnd Films Selling in Cannes

Fauzan Zidni Elected Head of Indonesian Film Agency, Plans Cannes Push

The executive offers his perspective just days before the official kickoff the media industry’s annual “upfront,” when U.S. TV companies try to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory ahead of their next cycle of programming. Starting Monday, most major media organizations will hold showcases in New York that aim to woo millions in ad support from top marketers. Amazon will lead an event Monday evening, following similar presentations from NBCUniversal and Fox.

Not everyone holds Moss’ view. Many other executives say they are tempering their optimism about the “upfront” with caution. There are reasons to be wary when it comes to this annual market that asks advertisers to commit millions of dollars in advance to TV companies’ next cycle of programming.

Streaming has changed the business. Ad commitments to broadcast primetime for the 2025-2026 season fell 2.5% to about $9.1 billion, according to Media Dynamics, a consultancy that tracks upfront spending, compared with $9.34 billion in the year-earlier period. Dollars committed to cable fell 4.3% to nearly $8.68 billion, compared with nearly $9.1 billion in the 2024-2025 season. Meanwhile, dollars earmarked for streaming rose 17.9%, Media Dynamics said, to $13.2 billion, compared with $11.2 billion in the 2024 upfront.

One media buying executive says concerns about the cost of gas may affect some advertisers’ willingness to spend, including auto marketers. This media buyer says marketers’ final interest in “upfront” spending won’t be known for a few more weeks.

Amazon, however, can afford to be more carefree. It has no linear TV operation to maintain, and executives from both the sales and buy side acknowledge that advertisers are increasingly drawn to live sports, streaming video and big spectacles.

Those dynamics will benefit stand-alone streaming operations, says Brian Wieser, CEO of Madison & Wall, a consultancy that examines ad spending trends. “If you are Amazon, if you are Netflix, you are taking share. Roku is taking share. Vizio is taking share,” he says. “Traditional TV network groups are not.”

The economy could turn quickly and make the upfront more challenging, says Wieser, who sees challenging trends from two big TV ad categories — auto and consumer packaged goods. Some executives note the pharmaceutical sector has worried in recent months about getting FDA approval for new drugs. The market, Wieser adds, remains on “a knife’s edge.”

Amazon, Moss says, aims to provide the content advertisers want most, and then combine it with proprietary ad-tech that helps sponsors understand how audiences interacted with and reacted to the commercials Amazon shows on its Prime Video service. “The question I hear most form customers is ‘How do I make my marketing dollars work harder and smarter?’”

Amazon has in recent months created an enviable suite of DSP agreements with rivals including Disney, Roku, SiriusXM and Netflix, among others, that can help advertisers reach both video and audio users of content tied to other companies. The hope is that giving marketers the chance to buy a broader set of programmatic inventories from a single venue might reduce the number of commercials they show to the same consumer, improving the effectiveness of commercials by distributing them with more precision.

The company keeps adding to its array of partners. Amazon Ads will now offer advertisers the chance to buy connected-TV ads from LinkedIn as part of its DSP offering, meaning elements such as job title, industry and seniority can be applied to some buys.  Advertisers “want more ways to reach the audiences that matter most for their brands,” says Chris Conetta, director of omnichannel supply at Amazon Ads. “By combining LinkedIn’s audiences with the scale and impact of streaming TV, advertisers now have the opportunity to reach B2B audiences alongside Amazon audiences through their Amazon DSP buys.”

Amazon isn’t all about tech, says Moss. The company has built a robust sports business in recent years, with rights to the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” alongside NBA and WNBA games and Nascar, among other properties. Executives are also excited about “The Greatest,” a scripted series about Muhammad Ali, and the young-adult series “Off Campus.”

Advertisers, he says, “are looking for a provider that not only has premium content where you can own really big brand moments,” but also offers technology that helps place ads with more precision and helps monitor consumer response and action.

One of Amazon’s biggest goals is to win over advertisers that aren’t using its services. These “non endemics” include auto manufacturers, insurance marketers, financial-services firms and quick service restaurants. “We continue to be bullish” on the company’s ability to win over such marketers, says Moss.

In an era when traditional TV companies are trying to manage the decline of their linear businesses, they may be hard pressed to muster Amazon’s bravado.