Amazon wants to stream Thursday night National
Football League games live to its Prime customers, and could charge advertisers $2.8 million for packages that include 30-second spots.
At a cost of $50 million paid to the NFL to stream the
2017 season's 10 Thursday night games, Reuters reports, the games will only be
available to Amazon Prime Members, but will also simultaneously air on either CBS or NBC.
Amazon could become Google's biggest threat in terms of ad revenue. It's one step among several
that some advertising insiders such as WPP CEO Martin Sorrell believe will change
the advertising landscape for brands.
Multiple sources suggest that Amazon is working on building out its advertising platform to support "razor-thin margins" in the grocery supply chain
following the acquisition of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion.
"You envision a world where product search on Amazon is as popular as product search on Google," said Jim Yu, founder and CEO of
Brightedge. "That's a pretty compelling place for companies like Procter & Gamble or Samsung to make sure they're seen by consumers."
Yu said Amazon is moving toward owning the customer
relationship for the entire purchase process through products like Echo Alexa and Dash buttons as fragmentation becomes the usual way to connect with consumers.
Amazon's supply chain will let
consumers connect the dots, putting the company in a strong position to enter the advertising space supported by mounds of data. The company now sits at the point of purchase both online and in
physical stores across affluent neighborhoods.