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Another streaming giant will join TV’s upfront week this year.
Amazon will host an upfront event the morning of Tuesday, May 14, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The upfront will be held at New York’s Pier 36 event space, with a reception to follow.
Amazon is expected to tout its media offerings at the event, including Prime Video, Prime Video Sports, Twitch, Amazon Freevee and Amazon Music.
The tech and retail giant hosted an event last year on May 1, connected to the IAB newfronts, but will move to the main TV upfront week this year, joining fellow streaming giants YouTube and Netflix, as well as more traditional entertainment companies like Disney, NBCUniversal, TelevisaUnivision and Fox.
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YouTube was the first streaming platform to join upfront week, making the jump with its Brandcast event in 2022 (it continues to host a presentation for digital buyers during the newfronts), and Netflix joined last year following the launch of its ad tier (though it canceled the in-person event due to the writers strike).
Last year’s Amazon event featured a heavy dose of NFL football (a trend that will likely continue this year, with Amazon set to get its first NFL playoff game), as well as programming from Freevee and content involving Twitch.
This year, of course, it will be able to tout its core Prime Video service, which rolled out ads last month, except for users who opt to pay a $3 monthly fee. The scale of Prime Video, combined with its other supported offerings, may make its pitch more appropriate for upfront week than the more niche newfronts.
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