Amazon & Netflix Partnership: Risks, Opportunities and Pitfalls for Advertisers

Amazon and Netflix are teaming up, and the advertising world is collectively wondering whether to celebrate or sound the alarm. It’s probably a bit of both. 

In September 2025, these two streaming behemoths announced they’re joining forces in what can only be described as the rom-com nobody asked for but everyone’s watching anyway. Starting Q4 2025, advertisers using Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP) will get direct access to Netflix’s premium ad inventory across 11 markets. Think of it as Tinder for TV ads, except instead of swiping right, you’re dropping millions of dollars on programmatic buys.

Don’t Wait — Get Results

The Sweet Talk: Why This Might Actually Be Great

Let’s start with the good news, because who doesn’t love a little optimism before the existential dread kicks in?

For advertisers trying to manage campaigns across 23 different streaming platforms, this partnership is basically a life raft. You can now access Netflix’s 94 million ad-supported users alongside Amazon Prime Video, Disney and Roku through one platform. It’s like getting all your streaming services in one app, except you’re the one paying for the privilege of advertising to people who are probably half-watching while scrolling TikTok.

But here’s where it gets genuinely interesting: Amazon is bringing its shopping data to the party. Unlike your traditional DSPs that are basically sophisticated guessing machines, Amazon can actually tell you if someone bought your product after seeing your ad during Stranger Things. It’s the advertising equivalent of finally getting read receipts on your texts — terrifying and enlightening at the same time.

Plus, remember when Netflix was charging $65 CPMs and acting like their inventory was made of gold? Those days are fading faster than your free trial period. CPMs have dropped below $30, and buying through Amazon DSP might be even cheaper. For smaller brands that previously couldn’t afford Netflix’s champagne pricing, this is like suddenly getting invited to the cool kids’ table.

The Honeymoon Phase: What Could Go Right

Netflix’s ad-supported tier (a steal at $7.99 versus $17.99 for ad-free) now accounts for 55% of new sign-ups. The company doubled its ad revenue in 2024 and plans to do it again in 2025, which is the kind of growth that makes investors weep with joy and competitors weep with... other emotions.

The partnership promises to solve one of advertising’s most annoying problems: showing the same ad to the same person approximately 6,000 times across different platforms. You know that thing where you see an ad for running shoes on YouTube, then Hulu, then your smart fridge? Amazon’s claiming they can fix that. We’ll believe it when we see it, but points for ambition.

For the advertising ecosystem dealing with too much streaming inventory and not enough sanity, this consolidation is genuinely helpful. It’s like Marie Kondo came through and organized your streaming ad buys — except instead of sparking joy, it sparks slightly less chaos.

What Could Go Wrong

Now for the uncomfortable truths we need to discuss, preferably over something stronger than coffee.

By funneling all this demand through Amazon, Netflix is essentially handing over the keys to the kingdom — to a company that owns a competing streaming service. Sure, they probably won’t do anything sketchy, but the situation has “potential complications” written all over it.

What happens when Amazon becomes the only game in town? Right now, this feels convenient. In two years, when Amazon controls access to Netflix, Disney, Roku and basically everything except your nephew’s YouTube channel, that convenience might start feeling more like dependency.

“I have been surprised by how quickly Netflix has given up on the idea of being very exclusive,” said Max Willens from eMarketer.

And let’s talk about who this partnership is quietly murdering: smaller streaming platforms and independent DSPs. Paramount, Peacock and others are watching Amazon build this advertising Death Star and realizing they might need to either join the Empire or accept their fate as Rebel Alliance members with significantly smaller budgets.

The Trade Desk, which has built its entire brand on being the “neutral” alternative to platforms like Amazon, is now competing against a DSP that offers Netflix, Disney and Roku in one place. 

The Fine Print Nobody Reads But Probably Should

This partnership is a signal that the entire connected TV advertising market is restructuring faster than you can say “algorithmic optimization.”

Google’s Display & Video 360? Sweating. Disney and Warner Bros Discovery? Probably in emergency strategy meetings wondering if they need their own Amazon-style deals. Independent publishers? Questioning their life choices.

For advertisers, the math is tricky. Yes, consolidated buying through Amazon simplifies planning. But it also means less transparency, potentially higher prices once Amazon has market dominance, and the nagging feeling that you’re putting way too many eggs in one very large, very powerful basket.

There are also the technical challenges everyone’s politely ignoring. Cross-platform frequency management sounds great in PowerPoint presentations, but the reality is messier than a toddler eating spaghetti. Attribution modeling across different platforms? Still basically voodoo with better spreadsheets. Amazon promises solutions, but advertisers should maybe wait for the actual product before writing the success story.

The Part Where We Pretend to Have Answers

So what’s an advertiser to do? The partnership launches in Q4 2025, giving you approximately no time to figure out your strategy.

The pragmatic approach: Use Amazon DSP for its genuine efficiencies — simplified buying, decent attribution, access to premium inventory — but don’t go all-in. Maintain relationships with The Trade Desk and direct publisher partnerships, because diversification is still a thing, even if it’s less convenient.

Think of it like dating: Amazon DSP might be attractive and convenient, but you probably shouldn’t move in together after the second date.

The Amazon-Netflix partnership is genuinely significant. It offers real operational benefits for advertisers tired of managing different platform relationships. But it also concentrates enormous power in Amazon’s hands, raises questions about data privacy and potentially reshapes the entire streaming advertising landscape in ways we won’t fully understand until it’s too late to do anything about it.