Amazon’s decision to position itself as a major player during TV’s annual Upfront Week clashes with longstanding industry practices. The tech and retail giant is planning to move its upfront presentation to Monday evening in May, a time slot traditionally occupied by top media companies’ events for advertisers. This shift is expected to disrupt the schedules of some advertisers who have long attended events held at that time, such as Fox Corp.’s late Monday afternoon presentation and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Monday-night event.
Rivals view Amazon’s move as potentially creating chaos on Mondays, as it may interfere not only with scheduled presentations but also with important meetings between advertisers and network sales executives. Some industry leaders, like Mark Marshall from NBCU and Jeff Collins from Fox Corp., express disappointment over the disruption to the established Upfront Week schedule, which aims to cater to clients’ needs and time constraints.
Amazon is set to host its upfront at New York City’s Beacon Theater on Monday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m. During the event, which marks the annual advertising market where TV networks sell a significant portion of their commercial inventory for the upcoming season, Amazon will showcase opportunities related to its ad-supported streaming services, Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios, Fire TV Channels, Twitch, Wondery, IMDb, Amazon Live, and Amazon Music.
The company’s strategic maneuvering to kick off the week comes as it secures rights to stream a substantial 66-game NBA package previously available on Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT starting late 2025. Despite potential clashes with competitors’ events, Amazon appears undeterred and is eager to engage advertisers in discussions about the future of its advertising offerings and content platforms.
The estimated value of those games could reach up to $750 million in new ad revenue for Amazon, as suggested by Robert Fishman, a media-industry analyst with MoffettNathanson. Fishman forecasts that Amazon’s NBA rights will come at a cost of approximately $1.795 billion annually. Amazon has already announced its intentions to target holiday-season advertising by combining a special NFL “Black Friday” game with an NBA game in 2025. Additionally, the company holds NASCAR rights.
Traditional competitors are expected to feel the impact of Amazon’s Monday-night entry. Fox, in particular, heavily relies on live sports rights—especially those associated with the NFL and Major League Baseball—for generating ad revenue. Meanwhile, Telemundo is set to play a role in NBCUniversal’s future sports plans, which includes acquiring a new NBA package in 2026 and rights to broadcast Super Bowl LX.
Interestingly, Fox had previously made a strategic move to occupy Monday nights. In 2009, Fox shifted its upfront event, typically held on Thursdays, to Monday, which was NBC’s usual day of presentation. At that time, then-NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker opted to forgo the traditional upfront presentation for the NBC broadcast network and instead organized an “experience” at the company’s Rockefeller Center headquarters that encompassed elements from CNBC to “American Gladiators.” With NBC not following the usual upfront routine, Fox executives saw no issue in taking over Monday.
In a similar turn of events, NBCU reciprocated in 2016 by featuring Jennifer Lopez in a Monday-evening concert aimed at promoting Telemundo. Since then, the Spanish-language network has held its ground on Monday nights. Now, Amazon finds itself in a similar Monday night scenario.
Alan Moss, Amazon’s vice president of global ad sales, notes positive feedback from agencies and brands post their initial upfront with Prime Video ads. Moss highlights the strong demand resulting from Amazon’s comprehensive offering of full-funnel advertising solutions, emphasizing a strategy that connects campaign tactics across awareness, consideration, and conversion to measure each tactic’s contribution accurately.
Amazon has previously faced challenges in navigating sensitivities within the industry. The company’s 2024 upfront event, held in lower Manhattan, was a notable instance where logistical issues arose, impacting attendees. Amazon’s decision to make an ad-supported version of Prime Video the default for all users, with an additional fee for ad-free viewing, has also significantly impacted streaming ad rates and is likely to influence the sales process moving forward into 2025.
Amazon’s role in the 2024 upfront was substantial, coinciding with the announcement of the ad-supported Prime Video service. The vast commercial inventory produced by this move has put pressure on streaming ad rates and is expected to impact the sales landscape in 2025.
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