Amazon and Netflix strike major ad partnership

In a major move for the streaming and advertising worlds, Amazon and Netflix have partnered to make inventory from Netflix’s ad-supported tier available on Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP).

By Q4, marketers in 12 markets, including Australia, Japan, United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Italy and Germany will be able to buy Netflix’s ad-supported inventory through Amazon’s DSP, marking the final step in the streamer’s programmatic integration tour. Netflix is already live across Google DV360, The Trade Desk, Yahoo and Microsoft, but Amazon brings something the others don’t: commerce data, giving advertisers insights they can actually use to drive performance.

Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising, said: “This partnership with Amazon perfectly aligns with our commitment of bringing advertisers even greater flexibility in their buys to achieve their marketing goals. By integrating Amazon DSP and enabling even more advanced capabilities together over time, we’re making it easier than ever to connect with Netflix’s global engaged audience.”

For Amazon, this marks a continuation of a quiet land grab across streaming’s ad landscape. With similar integrations in place with Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO Max), Disney (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN), Fox (Tubi and Fox One) and NBCUniversal (Peacock), the tech giant is increasingly positioning itself as the connective tissue of the streaming ad economy.

“Our goal is to remove the guesswork for advertisers by making it simple to manage all of their TV planning and buying with Amazon Ads,” said Paul Kotas, senior VP of Amazon Ads.

Marketers typically use multiple DSPs when buying inventory, but this partnership simplifies the process by centralising access to Netflix alongside other major streaming services. Given Amazon’s DSP discounts for third-party CTV inventory, in some cases, it will make it cheaper to buy Netflix ads through Amazon than directly.

Since launching its ad tier in 2022, Netflix has faced criticism over high costs—CPMs started around $65 and still draw complaints despite falling below $30. Limited audience size and measurement issues have also made advertisers wary.