Amazon launches new tv buying system for advertisers

Amazon Ads has introduced Complete TV, a new capability designed to help television advertisers manage their streaming ad purchases more efficiently. The announcement, made on March 4, 2025, just five days ago, comes as advertising budgets continue shifting toward streaming platforms.

Complete TV operates within Amazon's demand-side platform (DSP) and focuses on helping advertisers fulfill their spend commitments completely while providing a streamlined approach to campaign management. The system incorporates artificial intelligence to deliver recommendations for budget allocation across Prime Video and other premium streaming platforms.

The announcement reflects Amazon's ongoing efforts to capture a larger portion of television advertising expenditures as viewers increasingly migrate from traditional linear television to streaming services. With this new system, Amazon is positioning itself as a central hub for managing television advertising across multiple streaming platforms.

According to Amazon Ads, the new system simplifies the process of managing streaming television campaigns. Advertisers input their streaming television plan details and audience parameters, and Complete TV utilizes real-time insights to maximize viewership and control frequency across both linear and streaming channels.

"Advertisers deserve easier ways to plan and manage their streaming TV spend," said Kelly MacLean, Vice President of Amazon DSP. "Complete TV is a first-ever tool that automatically manages upfront commitments and scatter budgets, using real-time pacing insights and AI-powered capabilities to help advertisers reach high-value audiences, drive ROI, and eliminate media waste."

The system employs Amazon's Ad Relevance technology, which analyzes data signals from various sources to determine appropriate advertising opportunities. This capability enables advertisers to reach audiences with up to 95% addressability, according to Amazon internal data from 2024.

Complete TV offers several technical features specifically designed for television advertising management. The system can be used through Amazon's Ads Planner interface or integrated with existing agency tools through an Application Programming Interface (API). This technical flexibility allows media planners to input their budget parameters, custom audience definitions, and negotiated rates to determine optimal budget distribution across publishers.

The platform combines various capabilities to create a comprehensive television advertising management solution. Advertisers can incorporate their existing streaming television supply arrangements and integrate insights from linear television to create more cohesive campaigns.

For technical implementation, the system provides interoperability with existing planning tools. Media planners have multiple options for utilizing the system: they can access it directly through Amazon's Ads Planner interface or connect through API integration with their preferred technology services. This approach allows for maintaining privacy while transferring necessary data such as budget parameters, audience definitions, and negotiated rates.

The system includes advanced performance analytics capabilities that provide insights on advertising effectiveness. Advertisers can access Amazon-enhanced measurement data to evaluate business outcomes, including metrics such as publisher reach, audience overlap, brand lift, and conversion paths across all advertising investments, including traditional linear television.

These analytics are delivered through two primary mechanisms: the Complete TV dashboard and custom analysis capabilities within the Amazon Marketing Cloud. The combination provides advertisers with multiple options for evaluating campaign performance and optimizing future advertising investments.

Data generated by Complete TV campaigns can be analyzed alongside other advertising metrics to provide a more comprehensive understanding of overall marketing effectiveness. This integrated approach to measurement represents an evolution in how streaming television advertising performance is assessed.

Amazon has implemented a fee structure for Complete TV that differs from typical industry practices. According to the announcement, advertisers pay no fees (0%) for programmatic guaranteed deals on Amazon properties, while deals with premium streaming publishers incur a 1% fee. This pricing approach represents a significant departure from typical industry rates.

Additionally, the insights provided through the system are available at no additional cost, creating further economic incentives for advertisers to utilize the platform. This pricing structure appears designed to accelerate adoption of the Complete TV system among television advertisers who are managing substantial budgets across multiple streaming platforms.

The Complete TV toolset integrates with other AI-driven enhancements on the Amazon DSP platform, including Brand+ and Performance+. These integrations create a more comprehensive advertising management environment that extends beyond television to other digital formats.

The technical foundation of Complete TV relies on Amazon's Ad Relevance system, which operates independently of traditional advertising identifiers. Instead, the system analyzes trillions of signals from Amazon's shopping, browsing, and streaming activities, combined with real-time information about content being viewed across Amazon and partner platforms.

This analytical approach helps determine where potential customers are in their purchasing journey, enabling more targeted advertising delivery. The system functions across Amazon's owned properties and through direct integrations with premium streaming publishers, creating a broad reach for advertisers utilizing the platform.

This technical approach reflects the advertising industry's ongoing adaptation to a more privacy-focused environment where traditional tracking mechanisms are becoming less available or less effective. By utilizing aggregated signals and content context rather than individual identifiers, Amazon is developing alternative methods for delivering relevant advertising.

Amazon Ads claims to reach a substantial audience through its platform. According to the announcement, advertisers can access an average monthly ad-supported audience exceeding 275 million people in the United States across Amazon's owned and operated properties. This audience is supplemented by "tens of millions" of customers accessed through direct integrations with premium streaming publishers.

The Complete TV system is currently available in beta form, with full availability planned for the 2025/26 broadcast season. This timing aligns with traditional television advertising planning cycles, where commitments are often made months in advance of actual advertising delivery.

The phased rollout approach allows Amazon to refine the system based on feedback from early adopters before making it more widely available. This methodology follows standard patterns for introducing complex advertising technologies to the market.

The introduction of Complete TV occurs against a backdrop of significant change in television advertising. Audiences continue migrating from traditional linear television to streaming platforms, creating challenges for advertisers accustomed to established television buying processes.

Amazon's offering aims to bridge the gap between traditional television buying practices and the more fragmented streaming environment. By providing tools that simplify management across multiple platforms, Amazon is addressing pain points experienced by advertisers trying to maintain reach while adapting to changing viewing patterns.

The system also reflects the growing importance of artificial intelligence in advertising management. By incorporating AI-powered recommendations, Amazon is pursuing efficiency improvements that would be difficult to achieve through manual processes alone.

While Amazon's announcement focuses on the capabilities and advantages of Complete TV, the system faces competition from other platforms also seeking to simplify streaming television advertising management. Traditional television networks, advertising technology companies, and other major streaming platforms all offer solutions addressing aspects of this challenge.

The effectiveness of Complete TV will ultimately be determined by its ability to deliver measurable improvements in advertising performance and operational efficiency. Amazon's extensive data resources provide potential advantages, but adoption will depend on demonstrated results and ease of integration with existing advertising processes.

As the system moves from beta to general availability for the 2025/26 broadcast season, advertisers will have opportunities to evaluate its performance against competing solutions and determine whether it delivers sufficient value to justify adoption.

Timeline

• March 4, 2025: Amazon Ads announces Complete TV, a new capability on Amazon DSP
• Current status: Complete TV is available in beta form to selected advertisers
• 2025/26 broadcast season: Planned full availability of the Complete TV suite of capabilities
• Background context: Amazon Ads reaches an average monthly ad-supported audience exceeding 275 million in the United States
• Technical foundation: System built on Amazon's Ad Relevance technology, analyzing trillions of data signals
• Fee structure: 0% for programmatic guaranteed deals on Amazon properties, 1% for deals on premium streaming publishers