Amazon Upfront 2026: From Prime Video to Spotify, Amazon expands its ad play

Amazon Ads says Prime Video’s average monthly ad-supported reach in Australia has grown to more than 5.5 million viewers, up 10% year-on-year.

The company is expanding its local pitch to advertisers across streaming, audio and AI-powered ad tech.

At Amazon’s 2026 Australian Upfront, hosted by comedian Nina Oyama, the next phase includes personalised and location-based Prime Video advertising, a broader audio offering through Amazon DSP, an extension of Amazon Audiences to Netflix and new AI capabilities for advertisers.

READ MORE: Amazon Ads brings Netflix inventory and Complete TV to Australia

READ MORE: Amazon Ads and Spotify expand partnership in Australia

Prime Video gets more personalised ads

Amazon said ad-supported viewing hours on Prime Video grew 10% between 2024 and 2025, as it looks to give brands more ways to use its shopping and viewing signals inside streaming campaigns.

Location-Based Interactive Video Ads will allow advertisers to vary creative by geography within one national campaign, including regional offers, pricing and local business information. Interactive functions such as “Send to Phone” and “Sign Up Today” are designed to let viewers act on the advertising from their television.

Dynamic TV Creative goes further, automatically adapting elements of an Interactive Video Ad based on shopping behaviour. Amazon said the system can alter product imagery, calls-to-action, headlines and product details from a single creative asset.

The format, which Amazon first unveiled in the US earlier this year, will become available to Australian brands selling through the Amazon store in early 2027.

Amazon is also introducing Next Up Ads, which place a brand message between the end of one episode and the next. Brands with Prime Video sponsorships will receive first access to the sequential format when it enters beta later this year.

Amazon pointed to L'Oréal Paris’ sponsorship of Elle as an example of its push to connect streaming advertising with commerce. The company said the Australian campaign reached one million unique Prime Video viewers, recorded video completion rates of nearly 95% and generated more than 5000 branded searches.

Amazon DSP expands across Australian audio

The Upfront also broadened Amazon’s programmatic audio proposition, with Amazon DSP adding cross-format access across streaming audio, podcasts and radio through partnerships with SCA, ARN and Nova Entertainment, among other publishers.

Amazon also announced a direct integration with the Spotify Ad Exchange, deepening a relationship that already brought Spotify inventory into Amazon DSP for Australian advertisers earlier this year.

The company is also extending Amazon Audiences to Netflix in Australia. The move builds on the existing programmatic partnership between the two companies, allowing advertisers to apply Amazon audience segments informed by shopping, browsing and streaming signals when buying Netflix inventory.

Together, the integrations are part of Amazon’s effort to position its DSP as a single buying and measurement layer spanning its own properties and third-party publishers.

AI moves further into campaign management

Amazon Ads also used the Upfront to showcase Ads Agent, its agentic AI tool for self-service Amazon DSP advertisers.

The system allows advertisers to use natural language to help build, optimise and analyse campaigns, drawing on Amazon’s first-party insights. Ads Agent had already expanded to Australian Amazon DSP users earlier this year.

The Amazon Ads MCP Server is now being made available to Australian advertisers in open beta. Built around the Model Context Protocol, the server is designed to let technology partners, agencies and advertisers connect AI tools with Amazon Ads functions including campaign creation, reporting and account management.

Willie Pang, Managing Director of Amazon Ads ANZ, said the announcements extended the company’s full-funnel strategy.

“Last year we made a promise to Australian advertisers: full-funnel advertising, for everyone. Today we're continuing to deliver on that promise, with deeper partnerships alongside the premium publishers Australians love, new interactive and personalised ad formats on Prime Video, and AI-powered innovation that puts advertisers in control."

“Whether a brand sells on Amazon or not, they can now reach audiences across Amazon and the open internet — with the complexity stripped away and everything planned, bought, and measured from one place," he added.

Fourth Wing and Tomb Raider lead Prime Video slate

The advertising pitch was backed by Prime Video’s upcoming programming and sports slate, with Alexandra Gilbert, Head of Content for Prime Video, Australia and New Zealand, unveiling new and returning titles at the presentation.

They include Fourth Wing, the adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ fantasy franchise, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Tomb Raider, starring Sophie Turner as Lara Croft alongside Sigourney Weaver.

Amazon also highlighted its continuing Australian production pipeline, saying 34 Australian Originals have been produced since 2019.

Among those is The Test Season Four, following the Australian men’s cricket team through a period that includes the 150th Anniversary Test and the 2027 Ashes. Australian-shot submarine thriller Subversion, starring Chris Hemsworth and Teresa Palmer, also forms part of the upcoming global slate.

Sport remains another part of Prime Video’s advertising proposition. The service will carry all four ICC Cricket events in 2027, while its NBA coverage runs from October through June and includes regular season games, NBA Cup matches and play-in action.