Amazon positions NBA rights and live sports portfolio as a lure for its broader ads business

At this year’s upfront negotiations, advertisers are set to weigh tariff impacts and consumer sentiments against big-ticket TV deals and major media investments. eMarketer projects that linear TV upfront spending will fall 9.1% compared with last year, for example, a drop fueled by economic concerns and the march of streaming platforms.

That doesn’t mean advertising’s subplots are going to take a pause.

Take Amazon, for example. The tech giant’s ad revenues increased 18% year-on-year in first quarter 2025 to $13.9 billion — and CTV is a single, if key, part of that business. A megabucks deal for NBA streaming rights last year saw Amazon Prime Video add to its range of live sports coverage, which also includes coverage of the NFL, MLB, Premier League soccer and NASCAR.

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