Amazon can deliver anything—including, increasingly, eyeballs to advertisers. And now, its upcoming slate of content, including an adaptation of the best-selling novel Fourth Wing and a list of young adult content, is sure to have advertisers excited.
The e-commerce giant held its annual Upfront event at the Beacon Theater in New York City on Monday night, showcasing new TV shows, movies, sports, and podcasting content destined for its Prime Video streaming platform and podcasting platforms.
While there were big names in attendance—the event included appearances by Oprah Winfrey, Chris Pratt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Michael B. Jordan, among others—what stole the show was the immensity of Amazon’s advertising apparatus.
Alan Moss, vice president of global advertising sales at Amazon Ads, said users watched 17% more content on its streaming platforms over the past year than during the preceding year.
Tanner Elton, VP of advertising sales at Amazon, noted that the company had penetrated 90% of U.S. households in one form or another, and as a result, had reams of data and customer insights to draw on for advertisers.
One Amazon exec even noted that it actively “works backwards from the customer” to create content, analyzing their consumption habits, and then working to create content that’s likely to resonate. That content is in theory more likely to convert for advertisers.
And in an ongoing expansion of its entertainment offerings, Amazon is continuing to up the ante on sports content, for instance, and expanding its exclusive podcast offerings, producing more TV shows and movies.
Amazon said that the NFL Wild Card playoff game, streamed exclusively on Prime earlier this year, drew a record 31.6 million viewers. Not only that, but those who watched it were on average seven years younger than viewers of NFL playoff games broadcast on linear TV, and 41% more likely to engage with advertiser content in some shape or form.
What new programming is coming to Prime?
As for the new and upcoming content?
Here’s a brief rundown of some of the projects announced at the event:
- The Oprah Podcast will be distributed exclusively on Wondery starting in July, and produce two new episodes per week.
- Duke University basketball signed an exclusive streaming deal with Prime, and next season, three high-profile games will be shown via the platform: matchups against UConn, Michigan and Gonzaga.
- Amazon is leaning hard into young adult (YA) content, with new seasons or content for Off-Campus, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and others.
- The hit show The Terminal List, starring Chris Pratt, is getting a second season.
- An adaptation of the 1980s series Voltron is in the works, as is an adaptation of the video game series God of War.
- A new series based on Blade Runner is also in the works, called Blade Runner 2099.
- Oscar-winning actor Michael B. Jordan announced a trio of projects: The Greatest, a series focused on Muhammad Ali; Delphi, a series set in the Creed and Rocky universe; and an adaptation of the best-selling novel Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros.