Roku Introduces Audience Guarantees for TV Advertisers

First OTT Platform to Offer Demographic Guarantees Based on Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings; Closing the Gap Between OTT and Linear TV Advertising Measurement

LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Roku Inc. today announced further advancement of its video ad platform capabilities with the availability of audience guarantees for TV advertisers. Marketers can now measure campaigns on the Roku platform using detailed demographic metrics comparable to linear TV with Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings (DAR).

“Consumers are migrating their TV viewing to OTT platforms like Roku, making them increasingly difficult to reach through traditional TV advertising,” said Scott Rosenberg, senior vice president, advertising, Roku. “As TV buyers follow this migration, they need a common currency to plan their investment mix across linear and OTT. With our industry-leading advertising platform, we are uniquely positioned to enable demographic guarantees.”

With demographic guaranteed campaigns on the Roku platform, advertisers can ensure their campaign reaches a more complete TV audience, including consumers who are not watching linear TV. Recent data illustrates the pace of this change:

• Forty percent of Roku customers have canceled or reduced their traditional pay TV service, and in some cases, watch all their TV through their Roku¹
• The latest Nielsen Total Audience Report found that Adults 18-24 watched 46% fewer hours of linear TV in Q3 2016 than in Q3 2010²
• A 2016 Nielsen report showed that TV Connected Devices made up 23% of average weekly video minutes among Adults 18-34, more than double that of PC, smartphone and tablet combined³

Nielsen and Roku established a strategic partnership in 2015 to integrate Nielsen’s DAR solution directly into the Roku Ad Framework, Roku’s integrated universal ad SDK.

Roku is already working with advertisers to bring this additional capability to TV buying.

“Roku is pushing the industry forward to adopt verification standards for media buying,” said Britney Greenhouse, director of video and digital investment, Horizon Media. “We have been working together with Roku to pilot the audience guaranteed product. We’ve seen positive match rates with Nielsen which are a good sign.”

“We are excited to partner with Roku on this first-to-market opportunity,” said Erica Sperry, vice president, National Video Investments, Trilia, an IPG agency participating in the MAGNA-Roku partnership. “As viewing migrates increasingly to OTT platforms, it’s critical for us to help our clients stay in the forefront of this shift in consumer behavior. Being able to guarantee on a specific demographic target through DAR gives us an added layer of insight and transparency in creating holistic video recommendations for Chili’s. We know this platform will play an increasingly prominent role in the media consumption habits of today’s consumers.”

Ad-supported viewing is the fastest-growing segment on the Roku platform, accounting for half of the top 250 most-watched channels. Investment in OTT advertising has increased to match this shift in video viewing. In January 2017, MAGNA and Roku forged an industry-first strategic partnership to deliver targeted advertising to OTT audiences, enabling MAGNA clients to reach viewers who have shifted their TV consumption to OTT.

Roku will present at the 4A’s Transformation conference on Monday, April 3 at 8a.m. PT and is available for meetings: http://transformation.aaaa.org/agenda-monday. For more information contact [e-mail].

About Roku Inc.

Roku pioneered streaming for the TV and aspires to power every TV in the world. As of December 2016, the Roku OS powered TV streaming for 13+ 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 9+ billion hours of video and music in 2016. 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.

Sources:
1 - The NPD Group, Inc. / Roku Streaming Leadership Study Q3 2016
2 – Nielsen Audience Reports: :http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2016/the-nielsen-total-audience-report-q3-2016.html
3 – Nielsen insights: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/millennials-on-millennials-a-look-at-viewing-behavior-distraction-social-media-stars.html