Amazon DSP Gains Direct Access to Netflix Ad Inventory in New Partnership Launching Q4 2025
Amazon's Connected TV Gambit: Netflix Partnership Signals Seismic Shift in Streaming Ad Wars
Alliance grants programmatic access to 94 million Netflix viewers while positioning Amazon as the default buying platform for premium video inventory
Amazon and Netflix announced a strategic partnership on September 10, 2025, that will enable advertisers to purchase Netflix's premium advertising inventory directly through Amazon's Demand-Side Platform . The integration launches in the fourth quarter of 2025 across eleven major markets: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Germany, and Australia.
Amazon DSP is a programmatic advertising technology that allows brands and agencies to automatically buy and optimize digital ad placements across multiple publishers. The platform leverages Amazon's first-party retail data and artificial intelligence to target audiences and measure campaign performance. Until now, advertisers seeking Netflix inventory had to work through separate platforms or direct relationships.
Amy Reinhard, President of Advertising at Netflix, emphasized the partnership's focus on advertiser flexibility. "This partnership with Amazon perfectly aligns with our commitment of bringing advertisers even greater flexibility in their buys to achieve their marketing goals," she stated. "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."
The announcement expands Netflix's existing programmatic relationships, which already include Yahoo DSP (added in June 2025), The Trade Desk, Google, and Microsoft. This multi-platform approach reflects Netflix's strategy to scale its advertising business rapidly after launching its ad-supported tier in November 2022. The partnership provides Amazon DSP users with streamlined access to Netflix's growing audience while offering Netflix additional demand sources for its advertising inventory.
The Programmatic Consolidation Play
Amazon's strategic calculus extends beyond simple revenue sharing. The company has methodically assembled premium connected TV inventory, adding Disney's programmatic access in June and maintaining exclusive relationships with NFL Thursday Night Football and Prime Video content. Netflix represents the crown jewel in this collection strategy.
The underlying technology promises to solve one of advertising's most persistent challenges: cross-platform frequency management. Advertisers spending across multiple streaming services have struggled with audience duplication and inefficient reach, problems that Amazon's clean room technology and first-party retail data could address at unprecedented scale.
"The operational efficiencies alone justify the migration," noted one media agency executive who requested anonymity. "When you can plan Netflix alongside Disney and Prime Video in a single interface, with unified frequency controls and measurement, it becomes the path of least resistance for campaign management."
Netflix's Revenue Acceleration Strategy
Netflix's participation reflects urgent growth imperatives for its advertising business, launched in November 2022 as a late entrant to the ad-supported streaming landscape. Despite reaching 94 million global users on its ad tier, the company has lagged competitors like Disney+ and Hulu in revenue per user metrics.
The partnership addresses multiple strategic challenges simultaneously. Netflix gains access to Amazon's extensive advertiser relationships while reducing unsold inventory across international markets where programmatic buying dominates. Amazon's retail commerce data also provides attribution capabilities that Netflix cannot replicate independently.
However, the arrangement carries strategic risks for Netflix's long-term positioning. By channeling significant demand through Amazon's platform, Netflix potentially cedes control over advertiser relationships and valuable audience insights to a company that competes directly in streaming content.
Competitive Implications Across the Ecosystem
The partnership creates immediate pressure on established players in the programmatic landscape. Google's Display & Video 360 platform, historically dominant in connected TV buying, now faces a formidable challenger with access to premium inventory from Amazon, Disney, and Netflix.
The Trade Desk, which has positioned itself as the independent alternative to walled garden platforms, must now compete against Amazon's increasingly comprehensive supply aggregation. The company's strategy of emphasizing publisher neutrality becomes more challenging when Amazon offers simplified access to the most sought-after streaming inventory.
For other streaming publishers, the Amazon-Netflix alliance creates a dilemma. Roku, Paramount, Peacock, and others risk marginalization if agencies default to Amazon DSP for connected TV planning. The convenience of consolidated buying could overshadow individual publisher differentiation.
Market Structure Transformation
The partnership signals a broader transformation in connected TV advertising from fragmented, publisher-direct relationships toward platform-mediated buying. This shift mirrors historical developments in digital display advertising, where programmatic platforms eventually dominated direct publisher relationships.
Amazon's approach leverages unique advantages that competitors cannot easily replicate. The company's retail commerce data enables closed-loop attribution from ad exposure to purchase behavior, creating measurement capabilities that purely advertising-focused platforms lack.
The integration of Netflix inventory with Amazon's Advanced Measurement and Campaign tools could establish new standards for cross-platform campaign optimization. Advertisers increasingly demand proof of incremental sales impact rather than traditional awareness metrics, giving Amazon's retail-connected measurement significant competitive advantage.
Financial and Strategic Projections
Market analysts project the partnership could contribute meaningfully to Netflix's goal of doubling advertising revenue in 2025. With an estimated $2.5 billion to $5.5 billion in potential annual ad revenue at steady state, improved fill rates through Amazon's demand could accelerate near-term growth trajectories.
For Amazon, the strategic value exceeds direct revenue sharing. Strengthening the company's position as the default connected TV buying platform creates compounding advantages as more agencies migrate workflows and budgets. Amazon's advertising segment generated $15.7 billion in the second quarter alone, with accelerating growth rates.
The partnership also positions Amazon advantageously for anticipated antitrust scrutiny. By partnering with rather than acquiring streaming publishers, the company can argue it increases competition and advertiser choice while building market-leading capabilities.
Investment Implications and Market Outlook
Investors should monitor several key metrics over the next 12 to 24 months to assess the partnership's impact. Netflix's advertising revenue trajectory, Amazon DSP market share gains, and competitive responses from Google and The Trade Desk will indicate whether this represents a temporary advantage or structural market shift.
The arrangement could accelerate similar partnerships across the streaming landscape as publishers seek to maintain relevance in agency buying decisions. Amazon's ability to execute complex technical integrations while maintaining advertiser satisfaction will determine whether its connected TV consolidation strategy succeeds.
Regulatory attention represents a significant wild card. Amazon's growing control over multiple layers of the advertising technology stack—from demand-side platforms to measurement to retail media—could trigger antitrust intervention similar to recent actions against Google's advertising practices in Europe.
The streaming advertising market continues evolving rapidly, with supply increasing across platforms while advertiser budgets face macro pressures. Amazon's strategy of aggregating premium inventory and providing unified measurement appears well-positioned for this environment, though execution risks remain substantial.
Looking Forward
The Amazon-Netflix partnership launching in Q4 2025 represents more than technological integration—it signals the emergence of platform-mediated buying as the dominant force in connected TV advertising. Success will be measured not just in revenue terms, but in market structure transformation and competitive positioning for the decade ahead.
House Investment Thesis
| Aspect | Summary |
|---|---|
| Core Thesis | The partnership accelerates Netflix's ad revenue near-term but structurally strengthens Amazon’s DSP as the control point for premium CTV. This compresses rivals (TTD, Google DV360) and nudges publishers toward Amazon’s ecosystem. Netflix gets speed and demand but risks future bargaining power and data independence. Availability starts Q4’25. |
| Key Facts | - Direct programmatic access to Netflix via Amazon DSP starts Q4’25 in major markets (US, UK, DE, JP). - Netflix ad tier has ~94M global MAUs (May '25). - Amazon integrated Disney’s DRAX with its DSP (June '25). - Amazon Q2’25 ad revenue was ~$15.7B, +22-23% YoY. - Netflix also accelerated programmatic with Yahoo DSP and its own Netflix Ads Suite. |
| Root Causes | 1. Netflix: Prioritized scale and its "double ads revenue in 2025" goal over "purity," using Amazon's demand for near-term revenue. 2. Amazon: CTV land-grab; adding Netflix to Prime Video and Disney makes its DSP the shortest path to "buy everything CTV" with frequency control and clean-room measurement (AMC/AWS Clean Rooms). 3. Agencies: Want one console for reach/frequency, pacing, and unified reporting. |
| Netflix Pros/Cons | Pros: Faster fill, more demand → CPM support; instant global buyer access; reduced ops friction. Cons: Platform dependency on a rival; potential data leakage; fee/margin pressure vs. direct sales. |
| Amazon Pros/Cons | Pros: Momentum toward "CTV OS" status; better closed-loop performance (retail signals → CTV); strengthens ad business share gains. Cons: Conflicts (brokering Netflix vs. selling Prime Video inventory); tech integration risk; growing antitrust attention. |
| Agencies Pros/Cons | Pros: One-stop shop across Prime Video, Disney, Netflix; better reach/frequency control; cleaner attribution. Cons: Concentration risk in one stack; persistent walled-garden opacity. |
| Economics (2026 Run-Rate) | Illustrative range: $2.5B–$5.5B annualized ads revenue for Netflix. - Assumptions: 55-70M monetizable users; 3.5-4.5 min/hour ad load; 30-40 hrs/month watch; $25–$35 eCPM; 65-85% fill. - Amazon Impact: Revenue from DSP take-rate + data/measurement fees; bigger win is DSP market share and pricing power. |
| Competitive Dynamics | - Accelerates budget consolidation into Amazon’s DSP. - TTD will lean harder on identity (UID2) and non-Amazon supply. - Publishers (Disney, Paramount, etc.) will feel pressure to integrate with Amazon DSP or risk being left out. - Retail media rivals (Walmart, Kroger) will fast-track their own CTV bridges. |
| Key Risks | 1. Regulatory overhang (EU fines on Google set a precedent). 2. Data/interop friction in clean rooms limiting buyer granularity. 3. CPM pressure from increasing streaming ad supply. 4. Conflict of interest in Amazon brokering a rival's inventory. |
| Catalysts/KPIs to Track | - Go-live execution in Q4’25 (formats, frequency control). - Agency share-of-wallet shifting to Amazon DSP. - Netflix ARPU uplift and fill rates in earnings. - Joint measurement case studies using AMC/AWS Clean Rooms. - Regulatory inquiries into vertical ad-tech integration. |
| Predictions (12-24 mo.) | 1. Amazon DSP becomes de facto CTV console for agencies by mid-2026. 2. Netflix ads revenue reaches a $4-6B run-rate by end of 2026. 3. Identity & frequency become the key battleground. 4. Regulatory drumbeat increases in US/EU. |
| Positioning Lens | - AMZN: A share-capture story with compounding network effects; ad segment to outgrow retail/AWS. - NFLX: Near-term top-line acceleration but medium-term platform risk. - TTD/GOOGL: Face relative headwinds in CTV access. - DIS/Other Publishers: Gain incremental budgets but lose negotiating leverage to Amazon. |
Disclaimer: This analysis is based on publicly available information and industry data. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should consult financial advisors for personalized investment guidance and conduct independent research before making investment decisions.