(Reuters) – Amazon exceeded its goal of attracting $1.8 billion in ad spending for its video streaming services next year, The Information reported on Thursday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the company’s advertising sales efforts.

Advertisers are negotiating major TV and streaming advertising commitments for the next 12 months in the Upfront advertising market, which recently closed for 2024.

Spending commitments include ads on Prime Video and Amazon’s live sports broadcasts, such as the National Football League’s Thursday Night Football games, the report said.

The e-commerce giant expects to sustain advertising revenue growth by investing in streaming TV and capturing a significant share of advertising budgets, especially as it increasingly shifts to streaming video services.

Amazon declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.

The company first began running ads on its Prime Video offering earlier this year.

In July, Amazon joined Walt Disney’s ESPN and Comcast-owned NBCUniversal in securing the rights to broadcast National Basketball Association games in an 11-year deal worth $77 billion.

The NBA joins Prime Video’s growing lineup of live sports offerings, which will also include NFL and NASCAR in 2025.

Amazon missed estimates for advertising sales in the second quarter, a closely watched metric as the company intensifies its rivalry with Alphabet’s Meta Platform and Google. Revenue of $12.8 billion was below average estimates of $13 billion, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)