Online retailer and tech company Amazon.com Inc CEO Andy Jassy yesterday said that the streaming TV advertising initiative has got off to a ‘strong start’ and added that OTT platform Prime Video has the potential to be a profitable business on its own.

Pointing out that the recently started ads in Prime Video shows and movies, where brands can reach over 200 million monthly viewers across hit movies and shows, award-winning Amazon MGM Originals, and live sports like ‘Thursday Night Football’, Jassy observed, “Streaming TV advertising is growing quickly and off to a strong start.”

Jassy comments on ad-supported Prime Video service and other businesses of Amazon Inc like satellite, cloud storage, online delivery and logistics, AI development and emerging markets for the company (that included India) were part of a Letter to Shareholders 2023 that was posted on the company’s website yesterday.

Alongside the Stores business, Amazon’s Advertising progress remained strong, according to Jassy, who took over from company founder Jeff Bezos as the chief executive mid-2021.

The advertising grew 24 percent YoY from $38 billion in 2022 to $47 billion in 2023, primarily driven by sponsored ads, Jassy observed, adding, “We’ve added Sponsored TV to this offering, a self-service solution for brands to create campaigns that can appear on up to 30+ streaming TV services, including Amazon Freevee and Twitch, and have no minimum spend.”

According to an earlier Verge report, Amazon had announced plans to start placing “limited advertisements” in TV shows and movies running on the company’s Prime Video streaming platform, to allow the e-commerce giant to “continue investing in compelling content.”

An Amazon press release stated that the ads will make their debut on Prime Video in markets like the US, UK, Germany and Canada in 2024 with France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia to follow later that year.

The ads on Prime Video finally started appearing January-end.

Dwelling on streaming platform Prime Video, Jassy said “we have increasing conviction that Prime Video can be a large and profitable business on its own”.

He added: “This confidence is buoyed by the continued development of compelling, exclusive content (e.g. ‘Thursday Night Football, ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Reacher’, ‘The Boys’, Priyanka Chopra-starrer ‘Citadel’, ‘Road House’, etc.), Prime Video customers’ engagement with this content, growth in our marketplace programmes (through our third-party Channels programme, as well as the broad selection of shows and movies customers rent or buy), and the addition of advertising in Prime Video.”

That Amazon Prime Video is investing in content can be gauged from the fact that last month it announced its most expansive and diverse content line-up to date for Indian subscribers, promising an unparalleled entertainment experience for viewers across the country. (https://www.indianbroadcastingworld.com/prime-video-unveils-2/)

With close to 70 series and movies slated for release over the next two years, the unveiling took place at the second edition of Prime Video Presents India showcase in Mumbai on March 19, where industry insiders and media luminaries gathered to get a glimpse of what the streamer had in store for its audiences. The morning event was followed by a grand evening party, including who’s who of Bollywood, which rocked till wee hours of the morning.