Amazon Ads Chief Alan Moss on Connecting Live Sports, Streaming, and Retail

In this episode of Next in Media, Mike Shields sits down with Alan Moss, VP of Global Advertising Sales at Amazon Ads, to talk about Amazon's rapid transformation into a full-funnel advertising powerhouse. Alan walks through how he joined Amazon mid-COVID in 2020 and within a few years helped land an 11-year NFL deal, launch Prime Video ads, and close an NBA partnership that made Prime Video a year-round sports network.  He and Mike dig into what's working in the upfront market, why Amazon sees retail media and streaming as one unified full-funnel business, and how Amazon DSP's partnerships with Netflix, Disney, Roku, and others now reach 90% of household audiences. They also get into the growing role of Twitch and creators as a mid-funnel marketing lever, and why Alan believes the future is AI agents — not just for creative optimization, but for full campaign orchestration. Key Highlights 🏈 From COVID Hire to Year-Round Sports Network: Alan joined Amazon in July 2020 and within months helped land an 11-year NFL deal, followed by Prime Video ads and the NBA — turning Amazon into a full-year live sports destination. 📺 Prime Video as the Biggest Ad-Supported Streamer: Flipping the switch in January 2024 made Amazon the largest premium ad-supported streaming platform overnight, though the team had to scramble for scatter dollars outside the upfront window. 🚀 Amazon Is Democratizing Live Sports Advertising: Amazon brought 80 net-new advertisers to the NFL and 30 to the NBA in year one — opening up inventory that was previously an exclusive club. 🔗 Retail Media and Streaming Are the Same Business: Alan pushes back on treating Amazon's retail and streaming sides as separate, arguing the real value is a single full-funnel offering from brand awareness to measurable outcomes. 📡 The Amazon DSP Reaches 90% of Households: Partnerships with Netflix, Disney, Roku, Spotify, and SiriusXM extend Amazon's authenticated graph well beyond its own properties. 🎮 Creators Are a New Mid-Funnel Marketing Lever: Twitch's 105 million monthly viewers are increasingly bundled with Prime Video and sports buys rather than treated as a standalone offering. 🤖 AI Agents Are the Big Upfront Story: Alan predicts that the integration of premium content with AI-driven ad tech — from creative adaptation to chat-based campaign execution — will define this upfront season. 📈 The Upfront Market Is Showing Positive Signals: Despite macro headwinds, Alan says agency conversations reflect focus rather than anxiety, with demand clustering around scarce inventory like live sports and custom sponsorships. Resources & Next Steps 🔗 Alan Moss on LinkedIn 🌐 Learn more about Amazon Ads 🎧 Subscribe to Next in Media on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Chapter Timestamps 00:00 Cold open 00:43 Introducing Alan Moss, Amazon's VP of Global Ad Sales 01:48 From Thursday Night Football to Prime Video ads — the rapid expansion 04:48 The NBA deal and becoming a year-round sports network 06:58 Bridging retail media and streaming — why Amazon sees it as one business 08:30 The upfront marketplace: positive signals despite macro uncertainty 10:05 Sponsor break: Why the household graph is a differentiator 11:28 Why premium content + AI-driven ad tech is this year's big story 13:30 Prime Video Signature sponsorships and brand partnerships 14:20 Amazon DSP and partnerships with Netflix, Disney, Roku, Spotify, SiriusXM 15:35 Twitch update: 105M viewers, creators as a mid-funnel marketing lever 17:58 How durable AI agents make marketing dollars work harder 20:19 Wrap up