After shaking up upfront week in 2025, Amazon is bringing some stability to its presentation this year.
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Monday, Amazon Ads announced it’s coming back to upfront week, presenting on Monday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. ET at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. There will also be a virtual option for those who can’t attend live.
Among the highlights, the company will focus on new adtech capabilities, its live sports offerings, and its entertainment inventory, while showcasing talent from Prime Video, Prime Sports, Amazon MGM Studios, Twitch, Wondery, and Amazon Music. The company will also showcase how its advertisers reach an average monthly ad-supported audience of more than 300 million consumers in the U.S. across its owned-and-operated properties and third-party supply.
“Brands are seeking premium content, supported by advertising solutions that are simpler, faster, and performance-driven,” Alan Moss, vp, global ad sales, Amazon Ads, said in a statement. “By pairing Amazon’s incredible content portfolio with authenticated audience signals and dynamic creative capabilities, we’re helping advertisers deliver more relevant messages to consumers across the full funnel—while driving best-in-class performance and business impact.”
Amazon, which originally presented on Tuesday during upfront week, switched to Monday evenings at last year’s upfront, causing a stir among publishers and some minor schedule reshuffling. Notably, Telemundo moved its usual Monday night event to Tuesday, which it will do again in 2026.
Speaking with ADWEEK recently, Moss said CES is the start of upfront conversations with advertisers, where the company listens more than it pitches to understand clients’ needs for the year.
“It’s the opportunity to start talking about how we can help them to realize those goals, and—as they’re thinking about them—building a path to the upfronts and what’s coming,” Moss said.
The exec also outlined some of the priorities discussed in closed-door meetings with clients, including showcasing its Authentication Graph, which the company says has authenticated reach across 90% of U.S. households; creating more value from premium publishers programmatically; getting brands closer to live sports through integrated partnerships; and activating campaigns across AI-powered formats.
