The news: Amazon is leaning on a growing number of third-party firms to sell ads in segments of its media business, sources told The Information.
At least two third-party ad tech firms are managing Twitch ads, and it has approached a separate ad tech firm about setting up ad spots on Alexa, a source said.
The Information reports that marketers sometimes hesitate to advertise on Twitch or Alexa over concerns about being placed next to content that doesn’t align with the brand or an inability to measure campaign efficacy, respectively.
Amazon brought in $68.6 billion in net advertising sales in 2025.
Why it matters: The Big Tech giant has positioned itself as a one-stop media-buying destination spanning retail media, streaming video, audio, gaming, and connected devices. However, if some properties require outside sales support, advertisers may not view Amazon’s portfolio as a unified ecosystem.
They may see Prime Video as premium, retail media as essential, Twitch as niche, and Alexa as experimental. This weakens Amazon’s ability to sell its media network as a fully cohesive alternative to competitors like Meta.
The caveat: As Amazon’s ad business grows, it faces a challenge familiar to traditional publishers—size alone doesn’t ensure advertiser demand. Individual properties still need to show brand safety controls, precise measurement capabilities, and unique audience value to bring in ad dollars.
Media properties like Twitch and Alexa are fighting a more difficult monetization battle, showing weaknesses that don’t appear in Amazon’s topline ad revenue figures.
Implications for marketers: Amazon’s outsized media footprint doesn’t automatically make it a fully united monolith. Marketers should evaluate individual properties based on their ability to deliver outcomes that matter most to a specific campaign, whether that’s conversions, awareness, video reach, or voice-based engagement.
The reported challenges around interest in Twitch and Alexa also show the importance of scrutinizing brand safety controls and measurement capabilities before pushing spend into new ad environments—while Amazon’s scale and first-party data are major advantages, not all of its media assets may be equally mature.
This content is part of EMARKETER’s subscription Briefings, where we pair daily updates with data and analysis from forecasts and research reports. Our Briefings prepare you to start your day informed, to provide critical insights in an important meeting, and to understand the context of what’s happening in your industry. Non-clients can click here to get a demo of our full platform and coverage.
You've read 0 of 2 free articles this month.
685 Third Avenue21st FloorNew York, NY 100171-800-405-0844
1-800-405-0844[email protected]