The shift toward ad-supported streaming and why content is king for advertisers
January 10, 2024 | By Matt Miller, Sr. Copywriter
With 68 Primetime Emmy nominations and 16 Golden Globe nominations, Amazon MGM Studios kicked off 2024 with a strong showing this awards season. And that’s just the start. With The Boys, Fallout, Upgraded, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Road House, and much more, Prime Video has a robust lineup of new and returning series and highly anticipated films on the horizon.
Along with this bounty of forthcoming content, for the first time, advertisers will have the opportunity to reach global streaming audiences through Streaming TV ads that show up in Prime Video shows and movies. Ads in Prime Video content will be introduced in the U.S. on January 29, followed by the U.K., Germany, Austria, and Canada on February 5, and France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in the year.
Fresh off the success of the Amazon Freevee critically acclaimed hit Jury Duty, Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD; unscripted and targeted programming at Amazon MGM Studios, sat down with Amazon Ads to discuss how compelling stories are made, the shift toward ad-supported streaming TV, and why content is king for advertisers.
With the Emmys just around the corner, with four nominations for Jury Duty, can you talk about the massive success of this show and what you’ve learned from it? How has this success highlighted the value of advertising alongside premium content?
Jury Duty has taught us so much, but, for me, the first and greatest lesson is that high-quality, feel-good programming holds a uniquely valuable space and continues to play a vital role in the streaming television landscape. Jury Duty was an ambitious idea, well-executed by a phenomenal team both in front of and behind the camera. Receiving so much love from customers, critics, and the industry has been both rewarding and humbling for everyone involved with the series. To create a nontraditional series within a traditional medium, distribute it on a burgeoning service, and have such a broad impact … a huge debt of gratitude is owed to the early adopters/discoverers. The series broke through because of its virality on social and the extent to which the audience felt compelled to organically share clips and sound bites.
For that reason, the second lesson/takeaway is that the more we are willing to take meaningful risks, ensure our audience remains top of mind, and focus on making a positive contribution with our programming choices, the more relevant we will ensure our industry—and the content we create—remains with customers and brands.
Given the success of Freevee and other ad-supported streaming services, can you talk about why the streaming industry is moving in this ad-supported direction? How does this benefit audiences and support creating content that millions love?
As noted in the question, FAST [free ad-supported streaming TV] services, including Freevee, have shown an ability to resonate with customers, and the industry has noticed. I can only speak from my experience, having come from broadcast television, as well as programming for both the subscription and ad-supported services at Amazon. From a broadcast standpoint, ad-supported programming is synonymous with the medium itself, so for me, it was no surprise to see advertising come to streaming in the same way that the series themselves began to shift from broadcast to streaming.
From a streaming standpoint, specifically, ad-supported content increases the amount of choice for customers, broadens the aperture of content selection—including live sports and event specials—and allows us to deliver more customized viewing experiences to customers.
Advertisers have ranked original content as the most important factor when choosing where to spend connected TV ad dollars. Can you talk a little bit about why “content is king,” so to speak, and how Prime Video ads offers this to brands?
Content is king because it is the driving force in how customers choose to spend their valuable time. Content determines when, where, and how often customers engage with a service or offering. The expectation is that they are exchanging their time—both with and away from friends and family—to be entertained, and it’s our responsibility and privilege to ensure we’re delivering something worthwhile.
Given the ever-growing array of options, what Prime Video ads offers, in addition to incredible content, is an equal focus on optimizing both the distribution and discovery of the content that’s most relevant to, and beloved by, our customers.
Shows like Play-Doh Squished are blurring the lines between content and commerce, and it’s increasingly common to see brands play a leading role in the shows we watch. What are the benefits of this model, and where do you see this trend heading?
I believe the greatest benefit is for customers. To be able to offer entertaining programming centered on leveraging, or more deeply exploring, a product or brand customers love is of real value. We are giving customers new ways to think about the products they bring into their homes while also creating communal, compelling programming. Understanding the demands on our customers’ time and attention, being able to simultaneously entertain, educate, and expose is a service we’re seeing customers increasingly request from their content. It is already built into the DNA of social media, and we’re excited to bring it to customers via streaming television.
What is the show or movie you’re most excited to watch in 2024?
My list is so long, it’s difficult to do it justice. The final episodes of Reacher Season 2 are certainly high on the list. It’s a bit of a cheeky answer, but also 100% sincere. I love the show, and as I have nothing to do with it creatively, I can watch purely as a fan. I’m also excited for this year’s Super Bowl! I miss appointment television, and from top to bottom—the national anthem, the game, the halftime show, the ads—it remains the most unifying, anticipated, and big-tent entertainment experience in the U.S. I will always look forward to it.