Tag: roku

Roku Offers Advertisers Demographic Guarantees Based On Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
On Monday, Roku announced it will start offering advertisers audience guarantees for that are based on Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings in an attempt to close the gap between OTT and traditional TV ad measurement.

This makes Roku the first major OTT streaming platform to offer such guarantees for certain audience demographics, such as “adults 18 to 49”, allowing advertisers to buy and plan ad campaigns using the same kind of currency they have grown used to in traditional TV advertising. Previously, Roku ads are sold based on impressions. The streaming set-box maker signed a partnership deal with Nielsen to measure demographics on the Roku platform about two years ago.

What Brands Need To Do
With viewers increasingly choosing on-demand viewing over linear TV, advertisers have been curious about the viewing data that SVOD services are collecting. But since many of those services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are not ad-supported, it is difficult for brands to reach the streaming audience. In addition, Roku says about 40% of its users are cord-cutters, meaning that are not reachable via traditional TV ads either.

Therefore, Roku’s ad offering is valuable for brands as it provides a way to reach those streaming viewers. And now with the new Nielsen ratings-based metrics, advertisers may have an easier time planning and evaluating their ad campaigns on Roku. As advertising on linear TV and digital channels continue to converge, brand marketers will need to reconsider their media mix and perhaps consider leveraging Roku’s ad products to reach cord-cutters and cord-nevers.

Source: Multichannel News

Header image courtesy of Roku

Roku Makes It Easier For Publishers To Create Ad-Supported Channels

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Roku launched the Direct Publisher tool on Wednesday to enable publishers to surface their video content on its streaming boxes. The tool allows publishers to create their own channel on Roku without writing any code. Roku will build a channel once the publisher provides a feed of their video content and will handle ad sales for the channel. The ad revenue will be shared at a 60-40 split between Roku and publishers.

What Brands Need To Do
With viewers increasingly choosing on-demand viewing over linear TV, advertisers have been eager to reach viewers on OTT streaming services, which are typically subscription-based and ad-free. Therefore, Roku’s offering is valuable for brands as they may set up their own video channel on Roku to surface their branded content. And for brands without a robust content library, this Roku initiative should still open up more ad-supported channels on Roku that brand marketers can leverage to reach cord-cutters and cord-nevers.

To read more on how brands can deal with TV’s shift toward streaming platforms, please check out the Appified TV section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Variety

 

Viacom Partners With Roku To Offer OTT Viewing Data

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Viacom will soon offer advertisers a peak into the coveted viewing data of over-the-top streaming services. In partnership with best-selling streaming device maker Roku, which Viacom invested in earlier this year, the media conglomerate will allow access to audience data from Roku, which will inform Viacom advertisers of what Roku users are streaming and help them target particular audience segments via Roku’s full-screen video ad network.

What Brands Need To Do
With viewers increasingly choosing on-demand viewing over linear TV, advertisers have been curious about the viewing data that SVOD services are collecting. But since many of those services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are not ad-supported, the data is rarely made available for brand advertisers. This partnership should enable Viacom advertisers to gain some valuable insight into the audience behavior on streaming services, and brands would be smart to explore this opportunity.

To read more on how brands can deal with TV’s shift toward streaming platforms, please check out the Appified TV section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Variety

Nielsen To Report OTT Viewing By Streaming Device

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Nielsen already counts over-the-top viewing via streaming devices in its TV audience measurement. Starting April 25, the company will start breaking out those viewing stats by device to give media owners and brand marketers a better understanding of the attention distribution across various popular OTT streaming devices such as Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and even game consoles like Xbox and PlayStation.

What Brands Need To Do
This new device-specific viewing data will enable brand advertisers to figure out how much time people spend watching Nielsen-measured content on each device and link viewing of specific programs to these specific devices. This should provide brands with new insights on where they should prioritize their ad buying or which streaming device or game console they should  focus their resources for developing branded apps.

For more information on how brands can reach viewers on OTT platforms with ads or branded content, please check out the Appified TV section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Variety

Two New Tools To Help Brands Build Their Own Apple TV Apps

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
The launch of the new Apple TV created a new channel for brands to reach consumers in their living rooms with content marketing. Now, two companies have come out with tools to help brands build their own OTT streaming portals. Earlier today, video distribution platform VHX opened its API to let developers create their own streaming apps for Apple TV or Roku set-top boxes.

Similarly, brands hosting video content on JW Player’s platform will be able to use its newly released open-source tvOS app framework to create their own version of Netflix with ease, which Tasting Table, a food website, used to build and submit an Apple TV app for review in less than 24 hours.

What Brands Need To Do
As consumer eyeballs shift away from a rigid programming grid to time-shifted viewing due to the increasing availability and variety of streaming content, there are new opportunities for brands to reach consumers with branded content, which can live alongside traditional media content and is equally discoverable through universal search on advanced TV interfaces. Therefore, brands with video content would be smart to use the new tools available to create their own content portal apps for streaming platforms.

To read more on how brands can reach viewers on OTT platforms with branded content, please check out the Appified TV section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Sources: The Next Web & 9to5 Mac

Roku Enables App-Install Ads For Easier Content Discovery

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Best-selling set-top box Roku is adding one-click-to-install ads to its platform. The company is working with Innovid to streamline its existing clickable ads in order to simplify the subscribing process. Soon, Roku users will be able to subscribe to specific channels, i.e. install third-party apps on their Roku, by simply clicking a button within the new ads. Roku rolled out a new OS last April to improve its content discovery and curation, and this new ad product is a clear continuation of such efforts.

What Brands Need To Do
In this age of Peak TV, how to break through the clutter and aid in content discovery is a top priority for media owners and brands. Some brands have created their own Roku channel to promote their branded content. For example, action camera maker GoPro launched its own channel on Roku last year to showcase the thrilling branded video content it has. Now with the new app-install ads, brands will be able to attract viewers of other channels into subscribing to their branded channel and checking out branded content on Roku.

 

Source: Fast Company

New Roku OS Allows Users To Follow Their Favorite Shows

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Earlier today, popular streaming set-top box maker Roku unveiled the newest iteration of its flagship product, the Roku 4, which boasts support for 4K video streaming, improved Wi-Fi connectivity, and a remote control with integrated microphone for voice search. More importantly, Roku is also rolling out updates of Roku OS 7 to all its streaming devices, which includes a new “follow” feature that alerts users when new episodes of certain shows become available or when the price of a specific movie or TV show has dropped.

What Brands Need To Do
Some media owners and brands that produce video content have developed their own Channels on Roku, which essentially function like apps that allow consumers of specific interests to quickly access niche content. For those brands, the new “follow” feature presents a new way to stay connected to fans and keep them engaged with branded content.

 

Source: Buzzfeed

New Roku Focuses On Content Discovery And Curation

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: Re/Code

Earlier this week, Roku updated its lineup to introduce new features that primarily focus on improving its content search and discovery. Users of the Roku 3 can enjoy the complimentary enhanced voice control remote, while users of older models can use the Roku mobile apps to activate voice commands. Moreover, Roku optimized its search results, while also adding a new “My Feed” feature that lets you follow upcoming movies to see when they become available. As it continues to improve its user experience, Roku looks to hold on to its title of most popular OTT set-top box despite increasingly fierce competition.

SXSW 2015: Two Ways To Stream The Festival

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: Forbes

Can’t make it down to Austin but still want to keep up with this year’s festival? Now you can stream it easily on your laptop or TV. Besides launching the online content streaming channel, SXSW On, to cover key events happening all around SXSW, the festival also partnered up with Roku to create a new dedicated SXSW channel on the best-selling set-top box.

Header image courtesy of sxsw.com

 

By The Numbers: The Shifting Market Of OTT Streaming Devices

Posted on by Lab Team

According to a new report by Parks Associates, Google’s Chromecast has surpassed Apple TV as the No.2 most popular media streaming device on the U.S. market. Despite a considerable slip, Roku’s lineup is still the most popular this year, with a solid 29% of market share, while Apple TV fell to third place with 17%.

ParksAssociates-Streaming-Media-Devices--TopBrands

Apple TV sales have always been lukewarm for an Apple device, and its recent slide in market share could be reasonably attributed to its comparatively hefty price tag, as well as its closed ecosystem. The Cupertino company needs to add more value to their set-top box if they wish to continue competing with the likes of Roku and Chromecast, boasting accessible prices and better compatibility.

Moreover, the recently introduced Amazon’s Fire TV box and stick came in fourth place with an impressive 10% share.  As new media streaming devices, be they dongles or set-top boxes, continue to emerge, the market for OTT devices will maintain its grow amid swiftly shifting competition.