LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Roku, Inc. today announced a major update to the Roku® Publishing Platform allowing content owners to quickly reach its 10+ million households1. Content owners can now use a new solution called Roku Direct Publisher to launch streaming channels without entering a single line of code. With a few simple steps, including providing a feed, content owners can publish and automatically participate in search and discovery experiences, in regions where available on Roku devices. A few newly released channels built with Roku Direct Publisher include Above Average, Baeble Music, Comedy Dynamics, Cracked, FailArmy, Great Big Story, Mashable, Rolling Stone, Super Deluxe, UPROXX, Us Weekly and XLTV by XLrator Media among others, all of which can be found in the Roku Channel Store in the U.S. Roku Direct Publisher is also supported by top third-party online video platforms (OVPs), including Brightcove, JW Player, Kaltura and Ooyala.
Roku is also providing publishers with new video ad monetization features, including the option to have Roku handle all video ad sales. Roku began building the Roku Audience Network in 2014 and now possesses one of the largest, most effective ad streaming platforms in the industry. Free, ad-supported viewing is the fastest growing segment on the Roku platform, accounting for half of the top 250 channels in the U.S. According to Freewheel Q2 2016 internal data, more than 30 percent of all streaming ad impressions now flow through the Roku platform. Publishers who use the Roku Audience Network receive 60 percent of net video ad revenues. The solution is ideal for publishers without a sales team, or who simply need help to fully monetize their audience.
“Building streaming applications typically involves significant time, development resources and costs in order for publishers to reach and engage TV viewers effectively. With the launch of Roku Direct Publisher, we are empowering content owners to be able to get on the Roku platform quickly, develop an audience and drive monetization,” said Bill Shapiro, director of product management for the Roku OS. “It’s a great solution for content owners and will also result in a lot of new and interesting channels for viewers.”
Roku’s comprehensive and unbiased search, which already includes 100+ channels in the U.S., is now open to all content publishers on the Roku Platform. Beginning in the next few weeks, content owners who use Roku Direct Publisher will have their content automatically included in Roku Search and My Feed which provides updates on content.
The Roku Publishing Platform now also includes performance dashboards for each channel that provide the content owner with detailed metrics, such as the streaming minutes for the channel, number of installs, uninstalls and more. Content owners who use Roku Direct Publisher will also have access to metrics on individual video performance.
Availability
The Roku Publishing Platform is open to content owners and developers from around the world. Roku Direct Publisher is available now at developer.roku.com/publish along with the Roku SDK and XML programming framework for developing customized channels.
About Roku, Inc.
Roku pioneered streaming for the TV and aspires to power every TV in the world. As of June 2016 the Roku OS powered TV streaming for 10+ million monthly active accounts. Roku is known for streaming innovation and high customer engagement, offering content providers and video advertisers the best way to reach streaming audiences. Roku customers streamed 4 billion hours of video and music in the first six months of 2016 as compared to 5.5 billion hours in all of 2015. Roku streaming players and Roku TV models are available in 10 countries through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with TV OEMs and service operators. The company was founded by Anthony Wood, inventor of the DVR. Roku is privately held and headquartered in Los Gatos, Calif. U.S.A.
1 Roku uses “monthly active accounts” as a proxy for “households.”
