Amazon positions live sports portfolio as leverage to pry open upfront dollars

""We're not incremental to linear anymore. We're competing at the broadcast level," said Tanner Elton, Amazon's vp of U.S. ad sales. Speaking with Digiday, Elton argued that Amazon is now a fully-fledged member of the upfronts set, capable of going toe-to-toe with the likes of CBS, NBC, Fox or Disney with an entire portfolio of live sports rights."

"38% of marketers expect deals struck during upfront negotiations to claim at least half of their media budgets, according to an iSpot survey. But that market has become a tougher place for media companies as the pendulum has swung farther and farther in favor of buyers and brands. At last year's upfront, advertisers prolonged negotiations as they pushed for flexibility in the form of contractual opt-outs. Elton expects similar demands from marketers this season."

""We want to make sure that every dollar we're spending has [an] impact and that we can connect what we're doing at the broadest awareness level all the way down to what conversions are really driving business results that we need," he said. "For us, that's our sweet spot.""

"Where traditional broadcasters might point to the depth, breadth and brand safety of their output, Elton emphasizes the commerce giant's wealth of audience and targeting data as a means of prising open ad budgets. The latter is a guiding priority among marketers today; according to a recent IAB survey - 49% list it as their top criterion when deciding where to spend video dollars."

Amazon is entering the upfront market aggressively, using annual negotiations as a starting point for ad tech and streaming ad growth. Amazon positions itself as competing at the broadcast level, leveraging live sports rights and a portfolio that can match major broadcast networks. Marketers expect upfront deals to capture large portions of media budgets, but negotiations have become harder as brands demand more flexibility, including contractual opt-outs. Amazon emphasizes audience and targeting data rather than only brand safety and content breadth. Marketers prioritize measurable impact, connecting awareness to conversions. Amazon aims to ensure ad spending drives business results, aligning with its strengths in data and targeting.

Read at Digiday