Still, to ease that transition, Amazon kept its ad load light. “They had to make the ad load palatable,” said Doug Paladino of PMG.
But by late 2024, Amazon had already told investors it would “ramp up” the volume in 2025. According to buyers, the shift reflects a broader effort to right-size Prime Video’s inventory relative to the rest of the market.
“This is a lot of them coming back to equilibrium,” Paladino said. “They have more subscribers than any other ad-supported streamer, but many weren’t watching enough for that to matter. More ad load helps bring that back into balance.”
How Amazon compares to other streamers
At its new level, Prime Video’s ad load begins to mirror broader industry standards.
Netflix still offers the lightest ad experience, while services like Hulu, Tubi, and Paramount+ carry heavier loads. “Prime Video is now firmly in that middle tier,” Paladino said, noting its ad volume now matches other premium platforms.
Critically, streamers’ ad load generally still pales in comparison to what viewers experience on linear television, which typically ranges from 13 to 16 minutes per hour.
By increasing its ad load, Amazon has created more inventory to sell. More inventory typically leads to lower CPMs, and while buyers haven’t yet seen major drops, they expect them to come soon. Currently, buyers said that Amazon Prime Video CPMs fall somewhere in the middle compared with other streamers.
“That’s the upside here,” said David Nyurenberg, senior vice president of digital at InterMedia Advertising. “A biddable environment, plus greater supply, should allow buyers to find impressions at more efficient rates. It’s a good thing if they can scale without degrading user experience.”
“If Prime Video drops 10% to 20% in price, it could move spend their way,” Paladino said. “We’re in a tariff-heavy retail environment where clients need to do more with less. A cheaper premium platform helps.”
The increased inventory should also make it easier for ad buyers to target niche categories at scale, according to Nyurenberg. That would help advertisers take further advantage of the granular data capabilities it offers through its demand-side platform.
