Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says Prime Video is now making money. On the company’s third-quarter earnings call on 29 October, he told analysts the service has “emerged as a significant business” with a revenue run rate in the tens of billions of dollars, and that it’s now profitable “in its own right”, as Variety reports. Amazon hasn’t published a profit figure for the service.
The comment came on a day when Prime Video wasn’t the main story for investors. Variety notes Amazon’s shares fell after it missed Q3 earnings estimates and ad revenue growth slowed. Heavy AI infrastructure spending also weighed on free cash flow. Amazon’s results release shows the company posted a $28.1 billion operating income for the quarter, but free cash flow for the trailing twelve months swung to an outflow of $42.4 billion, which Amazon attributes mainly to AI-related capital spending. Jassy used Prime Video as one of several “momentum” examples in a quarter dominated by data centres.
What Jassy pointed to
Jassy named a long list of hits: Carrie, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Boys, Off Campus, Reacher and Fallout. He also cited the Amazon MGM Studios film Project Hail Mary, plus live sport including Thursday Night Football, NBA on Prime, NASCAR, the Masters and UEFA Champions League soccer. The sports slate carries much of the weight in Amazon’s own numbers. Citing Nielsen, Amazon’s release says the fifth season of Thursday Night Football has averaged 17.7 million viewers through six games. That’s Amazon’s best start, and a 16% increase on last year’s full-season average. The second season of NBA on Prime drew more than two million US viewers to its season-opening doubleheader, which Amazon says is more than double last year’s full-season average. Amazon also says the show debuted in more than 200 countries.
On the scripted side, Amazon says season four of Reacher pulled 66 million viewers globally in its first 28 days. Variety adds that Carrie premiered on 7 October, and Luminate data shows more than 2.1 billion minutes viewed through 22 October. If you want to see where these shows sit in the wider catalogue, our monthly roundups for September 2025 and August 2025 track how the line-up has evolved.
The spending behind it
Profitability doesn’t mean Amazon is spending less. According to the company’s 10-Q filing, as reported by Variety, total video and music expense in Q3 was $5.9 billion, up about 7% year on year. For the first nine months of 2026 it reached $18.8 billion, up about 20%. That means the pace of growth slowed through the third quarter, although the absolute figure is still large. Since the line combines video and music, it isn’t a pure Prime Video content budget.
What it means for UAE subscribers
In the UAE, Prime Video isn’t sold on its own through Amazon.ae’s Prime page. It comes with Prime membership. Amazon.ae lists the monthly plan at AED 16 and the annual plan at AED 140. New sign-ups are offered a promotional AED 8 a month for the first three months, after which the plan renews at AED 16 a month. The page says membership covers movies, TV series and Amazon Originals alongside delivery benefits. Prime Video’s profitability doesn’t change that bundle, but it does suggest Amazon has little reason to retreat from the content and sports spending that drives it. Amazon hasn’t said anything about regional pricing or which titles and sports rights apply in each market, so catalogue and live-sport availability in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt may differ from the US figures above. We’d check the Prime Video app before signing up for a specific show or event.
How much does Prime Video cost in the UAE?
Amazon.ae lists Prime at AED 16 a month or AED 140 a year, and Prime Video is included with membership. New members can get three months at AED 8 a month, after which the plan renews at AED 16 a month.
Did Amazon say how much profit Prime Video makes?
No. Jassy gave a revenue run rate “in the tens of billions of dollars” and said the service is profitable, but the earnings release and Variety’s report don’t include a profit number.
