Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Amazon Prime Video - statistics & facts
Watching series and films at any time, without advertising and for little money – these times are over. As it became clear that there is no viable business model behind this promise, companies are increasingly recognizing the value of ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD). Despite Amazon being the latest of the largest streaming companies to launch an ad-based tier for its platform Prime Video, it is poised to become the world's most-used ad-supported video streaming service by the end of 2025. With expanding penetration rates in several regions worldwide, Prime Video is especially challenging industry giants Netflix and Disney+.
As Amazon Prime Video’s pricing strategy seems to have paid off and its diverse selection of content offerings cater to a wide range of viewer preferences, the platform will likely keep growing and thus, be able to compete with other streaming providers in the near future.
Competing with the big players
Amazon Prime Video’s popularity is particularly evident in its home market, North America, where nearly 60 percent of consumers used the streaming platform in the first quarter of 2024. Furthermore, it gained the largest share of new subscribers among subscription video-on-demand services in the third quarter of 2024, capturing 15.6 percent of new sign-ups. To maintain its place within the largest video streaming providers, Amazon’s content expenses have run into the billions in the last few years and provide their viewers a diverse library of TV shows and movie, as well as own productions, such as “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”Sports boost Prime Video's portfolio
The platform's strategic moves extend beyond traditional streaming content, making significant strides in the sports broadcasting arena. The streaming provider has secured substantial deals for sports rights. For the 2024-2025 season, Amazon acquired one-third of the UEFA Champions League media rights in both the UK and Italy. This expansion into sports coverage has been well-received by Prime Video consumers, with one in 10 respondents in a survey expressing enjoyment of live sports programming on the platform, complementing Prime Video’s existing content. The addition of "Thursday Night Football" to Amazon's offerings has also proven successful, with an average of 13.2 million viewers tuning in during the 2024 NFL season, marking a significant increase of over 10 percent from the previous season.As Amazon Prime Video’s pricing strategy seems to have paid off and its diverse selection of content offerings cater to a wide range of viewer preferences, the platform will likely keep growing and thus, be able to compete with other streaming providers in the near future.
