At the 2025 Amazon Upfront UK event, senior executives from Amazon Ads, Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios were joined on stage by celebrities and actors to showcase Amazon’s entertainment portfolio and highlight its advertising solutions.

During the presentation, Amazon announced that Prime Video has grown its average monthly ad-supported reach to more than 22 million viewers in the UK, representing a viewership increase of 15 per cent from last year. Amazon also revealed that audience engagement increased more than 25 per cent in monthly ad-supported viewing hours compared to the same period in 2024.

Amazon also shared for the first time that brands can now reach eight out of ten UK households via the Amazon DSP. Amazon DSP offers advertisers significant scale through Amazon’s owned properties including Prime Video and Twitch, integrations with premium publishers, plus Amazon Publisher Direct which connects to thousands more publishers.

“We’re helping to transform how brands connect with consumers by delivering full-funnel advertising at scale that brings together unmatched reach, audience signals, innovative ad tech capabilities, and measurable performance—all in one place,” said Piers Heaton-Armstrong, vice president of Amazon Ads Europe. “With exclusive supply and access to more premium publishers than ever before—all fuelled by Amazon’s trillions of streaming, shopping, and buying signals— we’re making it easier for brands to connect with their consumers wherever they are in their viewing and shopping journey.”

New Original and exclusive entertainment

The event spotlighted a slate of upcoming series and movies on Prime Video, which has three of the ten most watched ad-supported streaming shows in the country, including Clarkson’s Farm, Last One Laughing UK and Reacher (pictured). Clarkson’s Farm star Kaleb Cooper appeared, announcing that he’ll be embarking on a solo adventure on the other side of the world in a new four-part series Kaleb Down Under (working title).

Amazon also unveiled a new comedy-reality format hosted by British comedy star Romesh Ranganathan called Would You Rather: Decide to Survive, which transforms the classic game into real-life challenges for a cast of UK contestants.

Acclaimed actor and producer Ahmed announced the title of his new subversive and poignant British comedy-drama, Bait. Sienna Miller joined to discuss her role in the forthcoming Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan movie, while Sophie Turner and Archie Madekwe took to the stage to speak about their new thriller Steal.

The success of global hits was also highlighted with Fallout, which returns this year after reaching 100 million viewers globally, and The Summer I Turned Pretty, which hit number one on Prime Video in over 120 countries. Amazon also revealed that since launch, psychological thriller The Girlfriend has been watched by over 25 million individual viewers worldwide. The limited series is already Prime Video’s most-watched new scripted series in the UK this year, and a top ten Prime Video series among 2025 releases globally.

“In the last year, we’ve seen brilliant moments on screen and it’s been a great year for our UK productions,” said Nicole Clemens, vice president of International Originals at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. Prime Video strives to be the first-stop entertainment destination for our customers, with the best mix of series, films, and live sports. We have an incredible range of quality programming with stories that don’t just entertain. They create memorable moments that viewers want to share, and we’re excited to help advertisers reach these engaged audiences.”

Brand partnerships that drive results

Building on the recently announced year-long sponsorship with Hyundai Motor UK for new Amazon Original movies, Amazon highlighted the growing opportunities for brands to connect with engaged viewers through brand partnerships.

A key highlight was an in-depth look at Morrisons’ exclusive sponsorship of Clarkson’s Farm. Taking to the stage to discuss the partnership, Jodie Locking, Head of Digital Marketing at Morrisons, said: “There are real, authentic synergies between what both Morrisons and Clarkson’s Farm represent. And as British farming’s biggest single direct customer, we saw this as an opportunity to connect with new audiences.”

Season 4 of Clarkson’s Farm was the most-streamed show in the UK during its opening weekend, ranking in the top three shows across all commercial TV this year. The exclusive sponsorship delivered exceptional results for Morrisons with an almost 20% increase in ad awareness and more than 17 per cent increase in brand favourability.

“Prime Video isn’t just driving greater audience reach and engagement – it’s home to some of the most-watched ad-supported shows in the country,” said Phil Christer, managing director of Amazon Ads UK. “These exceptional results demonstrate the power of sponsorships to connect brands with high-attention, cultural moments that deliver impact for advertisers.”

Live sport coverage

Amazon also demonstrated its expanded live sports coverage with UEFA Champions League winners Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge joining Prime Sports presenter Alex Aljoe to discuss this season’s competition. Prime Video’s debut season attracted over 13 million viewers in the UK and Ireland, and audiences can expect even more great matches this year with Arsenal versus Atletico de Madrid, Liverpool versus Real Madrid, and Chelsea versus Barcelona taking place in the coming weeks.

The Prime Sports pundits also looked ahead to the launch of the NBA on Prime later this October. It will feature exclusive coverage of 86 regular season games, the NBA London and Berlin games, first and second round playoff games, a Conference Finals series, and the 2026 NBA Finals as part of an 11-year global partnership on Prime Video.

To make it easier to reach these exclusive audiences, Amazon also announced new programmatic buying opportunities, starting with NBA this month and extending to UEFA Champions League in January.

Innovative ad formats that engage viewers

Amazon showcased highly engaging ad format innovations, including interactive pause ads which enable customers to discover and connect with brands when they decide to pause the show or movie they are streaming. The latter has already been tested by major brands including giffgaff, Lenovo, and Nestlé, with advertisers in the US reporting a 30 per cent uplift in brand awareness, and a 36 per cent uplift in orders for campaigns including interactive video formats compared to those without.

Also featured were Interactive video ads, where viewers can click an onscreen button with their remote, sending a push notification or an email that links directly to products detail pages or brand stores on the Amazon store—all without leaving their stream. Additionally, Amazon confirmed that development has begun on generative AI capabilities to make video advertising experiences even more relevant.

Earlier this year Amazon Live brand-led live shopping campaigns were introduced with brands such as Alpro and Maybelline New York already utilising the interactive shopping experience. Combining live video, social interactivity, and real-time shopping, it enables brands to host live product demonstrations within the Amazon store. The format can be integrated into wider campaigns—including streaming TV, Fire TV and display ads—to drive increased consideration and sales.

The event featured a set from world-famous DJ Armin van Buuren which was live-streamed on Twitch, as it was revealed that UK audiences watched over 595 million hours of content on the global interactive livestreaming service last year.

Amazon also revealed plans to expand Fire TV Channels, which is Fire TV’s native and frictionless free-streaming experience that provides all customers with instant access to free sports, music videos, entertainment, and news coverage from top partners. Already available in the US, where it has seen strong growth, Fire TV Channels’ ad-supported content will be available on all Fire TV devices in the UK in 2026.

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Tags: advertising, comedy, NBA, Prime Video, reacher