Roku and FreeWheel Announce New Programmatic Partnership

Rhea-AI Summary

Roku and FreeWheel have expanded their programmatic partnership, enabling Roku's premium inventory, including The Roku Channel, to be available to FreeWheel demand partners through Roku Exchange. The new real-time bidding integration allows programmatic platforms to access Roku's content, reaching over 85.5 million streaming households.

The partnership aims to break down silos across the supply chain and improve the CTV marketplace through interoperability, data collaboration, and signals. FreeWheel clients will gain access to inventory across Roku's app ecosystem and The Roku Channel, enabling advertisers to optimize and scale their campaigns alongside FreeWheel's premium inventory for enhanced ad-supported streaming experiences.

Positive

• Access to 85.5 million streaming households for advertisers
• Expanded market reach through FreeWheel's demand partners
• Enhanced programmatic advertising capabilities through real-time bidding
• Improved transparency and efficiency in ad delivery

Negative

• None.

Insights

Market Research Analyst

The partnership between Roku and FreeWheel represents a significant advancement in the CTV advertising ecosystem. With Roku's 85.5 million streaming households now accessible through FreeWheel's platform, advertisers gain unprecedented reach in premium CTV inventory. This integration addresses key industry challenges around fragmentation and transparency while potentially increasing ad revenue for both companies.

The real-time bidding protocol introduces new efficiency in programmatic CTV advertising, likely leading to better CPMs and improved fill rates. For CMCSA (Comcast, FreeWheel's parent company), this partnership strengthens their advertising technology portfolio and could drive meaningful revenue growth in their high-margin ad tech segment. The deal positions FreeWheel more competitively against other SSPs in the rapidly growing CTV advertising market.

Tech Expert

The technical implementation of real-time bidding (RTB) between these platforms marks a important step toward standardizing CTV advertising protocols. This integration enables seamless programmatic trading while maintaining premium ad quality - a significant technical achievement in the complex CTV ecosystem. The partnership leverages FreeWheel's sophisticated ad serving capabilities with Roku's extensive first-party data and reach.

By breaking down technical silos and improving interoperability, this solution should reduce latency and improve ad delivery efficiency. For advertisers, this means better targeting capabilities and more transparent bidding processes, potentially leading to improved ROAS. The technology infrastructure required for this integration demonstrates both companies' commitment to advancing CTV advertising standards.

For the first time, Roku premium inventory – including The Roku Channel – will be available to FreeWheel demand partners via a new, real-time bidding integration

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Roku, the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S.* and FreeWheel, a global technology platform for the television advertising industry, announced they’ve expanded their programmatic partnership to make Roku content, including The Roku Channel, available to FreeWheel demand partners through Roku Exchange. For the first time under the partnership, a new, standard protocol will enable real-time bidding among programmatic platforms, offering advertisers a robust, premium CTV supply marketplace where they can find their audiences holistically and at scale.

In today’s fragmented TV and digital landscape, providing a high-quality streaming experience where viewers are served relevant ads requires breaking down siloes across the supply chain. By choosing FreeWheel, Roku gains access to its world-class technology and programmatic sophistication as well as the ability to leverage FreeWheel’s direct relationships with demand-side partners. FreeWheel in turn will be able to give demand partners access to Roku’s premium content and unmatched reach.

“If we want to ensure that ad-supported streaming is a premium experience, the need for interoperability across the fragmented TV landscape is imperative,” says Miles Fisher, Senior Director, Strategic Advertising Partnerships at Roku. “This is why we are thrilled to give more advertisers access to our amazing content in a direct and transparent way with FreeWheel.”

This integration marks an expansion of the existing partnership between Roku and FreeWheel that has been focused on interoperability, data collaboration, and signals, to improve the greater CTV marketplace. This partnership gives FreeWheel clients access to inventory across Roku’s app ecosystem and The Roku Channel.

“Having Roku inventory available alongside our other premium publishers is a major victory for not just FreeWheel clients but consumers as well,” says Greg Bel, Executive Director, Strategic Partnerships, FreeWheel. “Roku understands that providing viewers with the best experience and brands with a premium destination for their ads is only possible through a transparent TV landscape.”

“Marketers today are looking for increased scale and better performance and this integration helps brands holistically reach audiences across the viewing experience – something that has always been important to us as we work to unify the programmatic and digital video landscape,” said Eyal Ebel, SVP, PMX Platform Partnerships. “Providing clients with activation optionality, be it DSP, SSP, or Publisher Direct is the best way to deliver outcomes, and we support any partnership that provides our clients with greater transparency and efficiency.”

By accessing Roku’s more than 85.5 million streaming households on FreeWheel’s platform, advertisers can optimize and scale their campaigns alongside FreeWheel’s other premium inventory to provide a superior, ad-supported streaming experience for consumers.

*By hours streamed (Hypothesis Group: Dec 2023)

About Roku, Inc.

Roku pioneered streaming on TV. We connect users to the content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku TV™ models, Roku streaming players, and TV- related audio devices are available in various countries around the world through direct retail sales and/or licensing arrangements with TV OEM brands. Roku-branded TVs and Roku Smart Home products are sold exclusively in the United States. Roku also operates The Roku Channel, the home of free and premium entertainment with exclusive access to Roku Originals, and the #3 app on our platform by both reach and engagement. The Roku Channel is available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., U.S.A.

Roku and Roku TV are trademarks or registered trademarks of Roku, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries. Tradenames, trademarks, and services marks of other companies appearing in this press release are the property of their respective holders.

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited to trends related to TV streaming and advertising; Roku’s partnership with FreeWheel; and the features, capabilities, benefits, growth and reach of the Roku platform. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports Roku, Inc. files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Roku’s website and are available from Roku without charge.

About FreeWheel

FreeWheel empowers all segments of The New TV Ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types, and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. With offices in New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Beijing, and across the globe, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit https://www.freewheel.com/, and follow us on X and LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241212492005/en/

Emily Miller

Emily_Miller@comcast.com

Comcast Advertising

Roku

Sarah Saul

AdsPR@roku.com

Source: FreeWheel

FAQ

What is the impact of Roku's partnership with FreeWheel on ROKU stock?

The partnership expands Roku's advertising reach by making its premium inventory available to FreeWheel's demand partners, potentially increasing ad revenue through access to 85.5 million streaming households.

How many streaming households does Roku reach in 2024?

Roku reaches more than 85.5 million streaming households according to the announcement.

What new features does the Roku-FreeWheel partnership introduce?

The partnership introduces real-time bidding integration, allowing programmatic platforms to access Roku content, including The Roku Channel, through Roku Exchange.

How will advertisers benefit from the Roku-FreeWheel integration?

Advertisers can optimize and scale their campaigns across Roku's ecosystem alongside FreeWheel's premium inventory, with improved transparency and efficiency in ad delivery.