Amazon has officially announced a massive milestone for its ad-supported platform: Prime Video now reaches over 315 million monthly viewers globally.
This staggering number, unveiled at the company’s annual unBoxed event, represents a nearly 60% jump from the 200 million global reach Amazon reported just months prior. It’s a clear declaration that Amazon, thanks to its strategic move to make the ad-supported tier the default experience for Prime members, is now a heavyweight in the premium advertising world.
The key to this exponential growth lies in Amazon’s brilliant, if controversial, strategy: in early 2024, Prime Video automatically transitioned all existing Prime subscribers into the ad-supported viewing tier. Users who wished to remain ad-free had to opt-out and pay an additional monthly fee.
This “ads-by-default” move instantly mobilized a colossal, captive audience, leveraging the existing 200 million+ global Prime member base. This 315 million figure isn’t just a count of users who chose the ad-supported plan; it represents an unduplicated average monthly active ad-supported audience across Prime Video’s vast library, live sports, and FAST channels.
Why This Number Changes Everything
For advertisers and the streaming industry, 315 million is not just a large audience—it’s a game-changer:
- Scale and Scope: This figure instantly positions Prime Video as a dominant force in ad-supported streaming. For comparison, a major competitor recently reported its own ad-supported viewer base at around 190 million globally. The scale of Prime Video’s reach is simply unparalleled in the premium streaming space.
- The E-commerce Connection: The real power of an Amazon audience is its connection to the retail giant. Amazon often highlights that the vast majority of Prime Video viewers are also active shoppers on its platform. This unique, closed-loop system allows advertisers to connect a high-reach, brand-building ad campaign directly to a measurable sales outcome, bridging the gap between TV and e-commerce like no other service can.
- The Live Sports Factor: Live events, particularly Thursday Night Football and the newly acquired NBA contract, play a critical role. Live sports are massive audience drivers and are notoriously ad-resistant (meaning fans are less likely to skip commercial breaks), providing premium, engaged ad inventory that few other streaming platforms can match.
The Future of TV Advertising is Here
This milestone confirms that the era of traditional, linear TV advertising is fading fast, replaced by a hyper-targeted, data-rich streaming ecosystem. Amazon is perfectly positioned to capitalize on this shift, blending Hollywood-grade content (from The Lord of the Rings to The Boys) with the most sophisticated ad-tech in the business.
For brands, the message is clear: the largest, most engaged, and most measurable audience in premium streaming is now on Prime Video. The platform has officially become an indispensable component of any modern video advertising strategy.
