Amazon Sees NBA As Linchpin for Ad-Sales Efforts in 2025

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Amazon wants to convince advertisers to take a bigger swing at its sports offerings. With the streaming and e-commerce giant set to take over a significant package of NBA rights this fall, moves are afoot to line up advertisers with a new suite of opportunities, says Danielle Carney, who oversees the company’s efforts for ad sales tied to live sports. “We are really excited as we transform Amazon from a single sport into a multi-sport upfront.” she says.

Amazon is also revving up a new NASCAR package and holds rights to stream “Thursday Night Football” and some NWSL matches. It holds rights to stream NHL contests in Canada and Roland Garros in France as part of a global portfolio.

With Amazon picking up more sports inventory, it hopes to collect more ad dollars. A projection from MoffettNathanson sees the company generating an additional $750 million in ad revenue tied to its NBA package.

Carney declined to comment. The pitch to Madison Avenue is that games streamed via Amazon Prime Video lure a younger consumer than sports broadcasts on traditional TV.