Everyone wants to talk about over-the-top (OTT) and connected TV (CTV) right now, but they’re often confused for one another. They’re also used interchangeably by many marketers, brands, and sometimes, by the most erudite reporters. With all the TLAs (three letter acronyms) we love to employ in this industry, we thought it’d be a good […]
Of the $70 billion in national TV ad spend, Roku’s Q3 cut was $100 million. But the over-the-top (OTT) platform and device manufacturer is gunning for more, using its relatively new measurement program to convince advertisers to divert linear spend to OTT. Roku touted that $100 million milestone on Wednesday, noting that its platform business, […]
Consumers already overwhelmed by the number of streaming services are about to get walloped by a wave of newcomers. And expect that wave to bring an ocean of ads designed to drive tune-in. This year, broadcast giants Fox and Sinclair are expected to launch their streaming services, the latter of which is named Stirr. In […]
FreeWheel released the next generation of its ad exchange on Tuesday. The Comcast-owned ad server built off its legacy ad exchange, enhanced by technology from its acquisition of StickyAds in 2016, for its updated ad product suite, DRIVE. The new exchange is designed to let marketers more easily buy over-the-top (OTT), set-top box video on […]
Roku wants to save the day for advertisers on over-the-top (OTT) video. The streaming platform launched a program Tuesday to help advertisers and publishers better understand the impact of their OTT campaigns on Roku. Roku’s Measurement Partner Program is made up of 11 partners, including Nielsen, comScore, Research Now, Nielsen Catalina Solutions, Acxiom, Experian, Oracle […]
Just a few years ago, Roku focused on getting devices into as many households as possible. But at a certain point, Roku realized it had to do more to innovate and stay relevant in the over-the-top (OTT) battleground for ad dollars. Since then Roku has become an advertising titan. In its Q2 earnings call last […]
Roku’s platform business, which encompasses advertising and subscription revenue, grew 96% in Q2 to $90 million. Roku’s ad business now makes up two-thirds of platform revenue, Scott Rosenberg, VP of advertising and audience development, said Wednesday during the company’s Q2 earnings call. Rosenberg didn’t break out a figure for ad revenue but said a majority […]
Roku released its Audience Marketplace on Tuesday, designed to let publishers use its first-party data based on how consumers interact with the OTT device. The new marketplace allows publishers to match their audiences with Roku’s. The device’s first-party data also provides behavioral insights – such as what content Roku users search for or how much […]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. An Otter Acquisition Most people are still busy digesting news of AT&T’s $1.6 billion acquisition of AppNexus – but the telco already has another little deal up its sleeve. AT&T is in the process of securing full ownership of Otter Media, the streaming media company […]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. DSPayday? AT&T is in talks to acquire AppNexus and the two companies are close to finalizing the deal, reports Cheddar. AppNexus brass are reportedly unwilling to sell for less than $2 billion. That sounds like an awful lot, but there are factors working in […]
Video supply-side platform Beachfront Media is expanding its partnership with White Ops, the digital verification vendor that specializes in bot detection, to include over-the-top (OTT) inventory. All inventory passing through Beachfront’s marketplace is now vetted and verified by White Ops, according to Frank Sinton, Beachfront’s founder and chief product officer. But is OTT fraud a […]
Pay-TV providers are increasingly investing in paid media to promote new and original programming on their streaming video services. To offset the pricy programming costs, these SVODs must attract a steady stream of new subscribers. Entertainment advertisers have always relied on tune-in tactics to promote new shows. But streaming video services now are also leveraging […]
Welcome to AdExchanger Talks, a podcast focused on data-driven marketing. Subscribe here. Roku is that rare startup that can go up against tech behemoths like Google, Apple and Amazon and win. It has more share in the TV streaming player market than any of those companies individually. Moreover, revenue from advertising and media represents a key part […]
Advertisers for the first time can tap Roku’s first-party data via a managed service measurement system called Ad Insights, released on Wednesday. The Ad Insights platform builds on Roku’s support of third-party measurement partners like existing partner Nielsen, Kantar Millward Brown, Oracle, Placed and Experian. “This launch was really the result of us stepping back […]
Although connected TV buyers have become pretty sophisticated at targeting and delivering an ad to individual users, managing frequency across video providers is a work in progress. But despite the industry’s recognition that consumers demand better ad experiences, many viewers find themselves bombarded with the same ad. Worse, those ads sometimes run within the same […]
In the words of Jon Stimmel, the chief investment officer for UM Worldwide, planning an over-the-top (OOT) ad campaign is “a Frankenstein of different methodologies mixed together.” He added, while speaking last week at the Videonuze Shift summit in New York, that buyers need more automation in the OTT planning process: “We are recreating the […]
Although Roku’s device sales make up 59% of its revenue, the growth of the segment is declining as Google, Amazon, Apple and other competitors push for more market share. However, its platform business, which consists of ads and subscription revenue, has expanded rapidly and now represents 41% of Roku’s total revenue. Advertising accounted for 67% […]
OTT is a catch-22 for advertisers. While it reaches the cord cutters traditional TV advertisers want to target, that audience is still difficult to track in an OTT environment. Although the channel is capturing more attention (and dollars) from the traditional TV camp, digital buyers say connected TV needs to address the issue of identity […]
In the past, large linear audiences weren’t always addressable, and TV tune-in marketing was more “spray-and-pray” than precise. But TV tune-in, that mainstay of traditional linear promotion, is getting a data-driven boost. As linear ratings decline and consumers trend toward time-shifted content and new distribution points like mobile and over-the-top, marketers have more data at […]
Newsy started life as a desktop play. But now the digital video network, purchased by the E.W. Scripps Company in 2013, derives most of its traffic from over-the-top (OTT) devices as buyers begin to warm up to the channel. Marketers are increasingly willing to invest in OTT not just as a testing ground but as […]
Roku will offer audience guarantees this upfront season, joining big networks like NBC with similar programs. Several agencies, including Horizon Media and Hill Holliday’s media spinoff, Trilia, are beta testing Roku’s audience guarantees. Roku’s offering is based on the set-top box maker’s existing integration to Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings, which helped buyers determine their waste […]
Roku generated nearly $400 million in 2016 revenue, mostly from standard hardware sales around its devices. But $100 million of its revenue was attributed to Roku’s media licensing and advertising businesses, which are expected to be its biggest growth drivers. The real MVP of Roku’s media and licensing segment may be the set-top box manufacturer’s […]
Erica Schmidt, managing director of North America for Cadreon, will speak about the state of programmatic and advanced TV at Programmatic IO on April 5 in San Francisco. The times, they are a-changing for traditional TV planners. Advertisers and agencies increasingly expect to buy TV, over-the-top (OTT) and mobile on a converged basis. And many want to […]
IPG Mediabrands’ investment arm, Magna, revealed on Wednesday it is doubling its investment in over-the-top (OTT) TV provider Roku. It declined to name specifics but noted the deal has multiple implications for inventory rates and pricing, third-party research and data. Magna is forming a private deal with Roku to allow more precise targeting between the agency’s […]
Over-the-top (OTT) television is at an inflection point. While it’s a promising way for media owners to capitalize on changing consumer consumption habits – the number of connected TV users totaled 181.8 million viewers in 2016, a 20% year-over-year increase, according to eMarketer – with reward comes risk. OTT’s lucrative CPMs could also attract bad […]
Roku has added comScore’s validated Campaign Essentials (vCE) to its list of video measurement partners. Although Roku had embedded Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings directly into its operating system in 2015, its customers wanted to use the vCE currency for measuring OTT, said Scott Rosenberg, VP of advertising and audience development for Roku. “We’re not trying […]
At 10 million active accounts strong, Roku is turning to media companies to improve the quality of its streams and ramp up ad monetization. Wednesday’s rollout of Roku Direct Publisher allows content owners like Rolling Stone, UPROXX and the Scripps-owned satirical publisher Cracked to develop and distribute video via Roku apps. The tool is also […]
A year ago, E.W. Scripps–owned video network Newsy was predominantly a desktop-focused site. A lot has changed for the publisher, whose 55-person editorial team endeavors to put its own spin on the stories of the day across verticals, from global news and policy to culture and entertainment. Newsy is now on pace to hit one […]
Custom content was all the rage even as early as 2007, when entrepreneur and actor RJ Williams founded celebrity and lifestyle site Young Hollywood. The millennial-focused publisher claims it averages 150 million monthly video views across desktop, mobile, OTT and social today. Young Hollywood evolved from content partnerships with portals like AOL, Yahoo and YouTube, […]
Interactive video ad server Innovid has rolled out a programmatic creative tool designed to let agencies and advertisers personalize video messages across devices. This capability is driven, in part, by Innovid’s experience tackling different ad-serving requirements through a series of connected TV partnerships. Innovid entered an audience solutions agreement with Roku in the summer, which […]
