Overview

Amazon has roughly doubled the commercial time on Prime Video, moving from about two to three‑and‑a‑half minutes per hour at launch to four to six minutes per hour by mid‑2025. The service now reaches 315 million monthly viewers worldwide, giving sellers a dramatically larger pool of inventory for Sponsored TV and DSP connected‑TV campaigns.

Key Points

• Ad load up 70‑100% — Hourly ad time grew from roughly 2–3.5 minutes in early 2024 to 4–6 minutes, creating nearly double the slots for sellers.
• Mid‑tier positioning — Prime Video’s ad density now sits between low‑ad streaming services and traditional broadcast TV, which still averages 13–16 minutes per hour.
• Global reach of 315 million — Viewership rose 58 % from launch, spanning 16 countries and delivering the largest ad‑supported streaming audience on the planet.
• U.S. audience exceeds 130 million — Monthly domestic viewers with ads increased by about 15 million year‑over‑year, expanding the core market for American sellers.
• Potential CPM dip of 10‑20% — Analysts expect the surge in inventory could push cost‑per‑thousand‑impressions lower, though exact rates will vary by targeting and competition.
• Closed‑loop measurement — Amazon Marketing Cloud links ad exposure on Prime Video to subsequent product searches and purchases, a capability most rivals lack.

How Amazon Built Such a Large Ad Audience

1. Default ad experience — In early 2024 Amazon made ads the standard for all Prime Video accounts; only members who paid an extra $3 per month could opt out. For example, a subscriber in Chicago who kept the free tier automatically entered the 315 million‑viewer pool.
2. Low‑initial ad density — The platform started with a modest 2–3.5 minutes of ads per hour to avoid shocking viewers. A family watching a children’s series in March 2024 experienced only a single short commercial break, easing acceptance.
3. Gradual ramp‑up — Amazon communicated a staged increase to investors, allowing ad time to climb to 4–6 minutes by mid‑2025. By September 2024, a viewer in London saw two ad breaks per hour, illustrating the controlled expansion.