Amazon says Prime Video will join Barb CFlight in 2027, which means Prime Video advertising will be reported in the same post-campaign tool as ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. It has also promised regional versions of its Prime Video ads by the end of this year, and both are worth understanding before you sign off your next TV plan.
What’s happened
At its UK Upfront in London on 7 October, Amazon Ads announced that Prime Video will join Barb CFlight in 2027, making it the first streaming service to do so. CFlight is the tool that reports, after a campaign has run, how many different people saw it and how often, with nobody counted twice; it was developed by the sales teams at Sky, ITV and Channel 4, and Barb, the body that measures UK TV audiences, took over its governance in 2024. Amazon also said that location-based interactive video ads will arrive on Prime Video by the end of this year, so that one national campaign can carry hundreds of versions with local offers, store locations or promotions by region. It gave no prices, no minimum spends and no month for the CFlight launch.
Why it matters to late-space TV buyers
Start with the measurement, because it is the bigger change. Your ITV, Channel 4 and Sky airtime is judged against Barb’s figures. Amazon says buyers have been able to plan Prime Video in Barb’s planning tool since 2024, but the report on what a campaign actually delivered has not sat alongside the broadcasters’. So if you add Prime Video to a TV plan today, you cannot easily tell whether it found new people or showed the ad again to viewers who had already seen it on ITV. Answering that question is what CFlight is for.
That matters to anyone who buys late, because late buying is negotiation, and negotiation depends on comparing like with like. We go to the broadcasters’ sales houses every week with our clients’ dates and budgets and agree prices for airtime that is still unsold. When Prime Video is reported in the same way, we can put its price next to theirs for the same audience. A seller that adds few new viewers to a plan has less reason to hold its price, and we will say so.
Now the caution. This arrives in 2027, and Amazon has not said when in 2027. Any Prime Video campaign you run this Christmas, and quite possibly well into next year, will still be reported the old way. Nobody should pay more today for measurement that is not here yet, and the questions we set out this week on Sky’s streaming ads on Amazon still apply.
The regional ads are closer, and on paper they suit our clients: an auction house that draws buyers from three counties, a fight night in one city, a claims firm that only works in certain regions. But Amazon names automotive, restaurant and retail advertisers as the ones it has in mind, which suggests businesses with many branches. We do not yet know how small a region can be, what the minimum spend is, or whether a regional version costs more than the national one. You can already buy TV by region from the broadcasters, and bought late it is often very good value, so Prime Video has to beat that, not just match it.
What we’d do
Judge Prime Video on response for now. If you want to test it before 2027, cap the spend, tie it to one sale or one event, and count enquiries, ticket sales or catalogue requests against the same money spent on broadcast TV.
Ask three questions before booking a regional campaign. How small is a region, what is the minimum spend, and what is the cost per thousand viewers compared with the national rate? We would then price the same region on ITV or Sky, bought late, and show you the two side by side.
Get used to CFlight now. If your campaign already runs across broadcast TV and the broadcasters’ streaming services, ask to see a CFlight report for it. We can ask the sales houses for it on your behalf, and reading one today makes it far easier to hold Amazon to the same standard when it joins.
How VCM can help
We compare what each TV seller charges for the same audience and buy the airtime late, so you pay less for the viewers you actually need. Have a look at how we approach TV advertising, then get in touch on 0333 577 1848 or at James@vcmweb.co.uk. Tell us your dates and the regions you care about and we will tell you what it should cost right now, no obligation.
