At CES on Monday, Comcast unveiled Universal Ads, an advertising platform aimed at being an “easy button” for small- and medium-sized businesses to buy ad time on traditional TV’s streaming businesses, with the goal of luring them away from social media and digital outlets. In addition to Comcast’s own NBCUniversal, additional partners include DirecTV, Fox Corporation, Paramount, Roku, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNBC Senior Media & Tech Correspondent Julia Boorstin moderated a panel with Comcast and some major partners who explained why they signed on to the new platform. Continue reading CES: Comcast Debuts Universal Ads, Inks Media Partnerships

Nielsen is now offering a cross-media U.S. ad performance view that takes into account advertising on controversial social platform TikTok. As a result of the integration advertisers and agencies will, for the first time, be able to compare ad performance on TikTok across all screens, including digital, CTV, and linear. The analytics will be parsed via Nielsen ONE, a cross-media platform that debuted in alpha in May 2023 at which time it was scheduled for broad release in late 2024. Nielsen says the TikTok integration will provide “independent and verified reporting of demographic data” for campaign measurement via Nielsen ONE. Continue reading TikTok Pacts with Nielsen to Measure Cross-Media Advertising

TiVo owner Xperi is gearing up for the launch of TiVo OS-powered smart TVs in the U.S., with production beginning as soon as this month. The company revealed that a U.S. manufacturing partner will enter production sometime in November, with another partner expected to do the same shortly after. Xperi expects to achieve its target goal of at least two million TiVo OS smart TVs on shelves by year’s end, which is about double what is currently available. However, the company addressed shipment delays that could push monetization expectations to 2025. Xperi is projecting seven million TiVo OS smart TVs will enter the global market by the end of next year. Continue reading Xperi Plans Launch of TiVo OS Smart TVs by End of This Year

Consumers continue to let their affinity for FAST and AVOD television services be known. In the latest example, Samsung TV Plus has already attracted 88 million monthly active users worldwide. With growth springing largely from viewers in the 18-49 demographic, the service has become the most-used U.S. app on Samsung TVs. The metrics put it on par with other top competitors in the free ad-supported TV space: Roku, Tubi and Pluto TV. As it becomes a global content force, Samsung TV Plus continues to expand its global presence with recent launches in Singapore and the Philippines, with Thailand soon to come. Continue reading FAST: Samsung TV Plus Touts 88 Million Monthly Active Users

A new study by Roku and National Research Group found that streaming may be a more effective marketing tool for theatrical exhibition than social media or television. According to the research, 44 percent of what the survey categorizes as “moviegoing streamers” claim a trailer on a streaming service would increase their interest in seeing a film in a theater while 43 percent indicate the same of trailers on social media. These numbers slightly edged out the 41 percent who say ads on broadcast or cable TV would encourage them to visit a theater. However, it’s worth noting that the survey also suggests 72 percent pay more attention to TV commercials than ads on social platforms. Continue reading Roku and NRG Study Finds Streaming Benefits Theater-Going

The Roku Sports Channel is a new 24/7 FAST channel launching Monday. Combining all the Roku premium sports offerings into “a dedicated, one-click, lean-back experience,” it will feature live Major League Baseball games with the MLB Sunday Leadoff game, Emmy-nominated talk show “The Rich Eisen Show,” NFL program “GMFB: Overtime,” live Formula E races, and sports-themed Roku Originals like “NFL Draft: The Pick Is In,” “WWE: Next Gen,” and “Fight Inc: Inside the UFC.” The channel will also feature exclusive partner content, such as classic boxing matches from Top Rank and combat competitions from Swerve Sports. Continue reading Roku Launching Dedicated FAST Sports Channel Next Week

Alphabet is rolling out the Google TV network, an advertising platform that will for the first time allow media buyers to slot ads across the entire Google TV platform of more than 125 channels with one transaction. Google says those ads will reach the 20 million monthly active users who use Google TV and other Android TV OS devices to watch live sports, full-length TV shows, movies and more. Initially offering “staple connected-TV ad formats” — including non-skippable and 6-second bumpers ads — placed in-stream, Google says there are more formats to come. Continue reading Google TV Network is Alphabet’s New In-Stream Ad Platform

Roku grew streaming households to 81.6 million globally in Q1, a 14 percent gain year-over-year, according to the company. Revenue was up 19 percent to $881.5 million. Streaming hours were up 23 percent to 30.8 billion, but guidance that rival ad-supported streaming platforms could hinder further growth this year dinged the strong quarterly results, sending shares down 3 percent in after hour trading last week. Claiming a position as “the No. 1 selling TV OS in the U.S. and Mexico,” Roku said the Roku Channel was No. 3 on the platform “by both reach and engagement.” Continue reading Roku Earnings Outperform Street Estimates Despite Headwinds

Roku has applied for a patent on technology that is said to be able to display ads over any device plugged into your television. According to reports, the patent application describes a system that interacts with devices connected to TVs via HDMI, which could include everything from cable boxes, DVD or Blu-ray players, game consoles, PCs or other video-streaming devices. The patent, filed by Roku in August 2023, was published three months later, but still hasn’t been granted. The idea is to have even more ways to display ads when consumers aren’t actively streaming content. Roku already does so on its screensaver and home screen. Continue reading Roku Unveils Tech to Show Ads on All TV Connected Devices

Microsoft’s LinkedIn social business platform has joined forces with NBCUniversal to enter the connected TV advertising market. At its B2Believe customer event in New York, LinkedIn unveiled three new offerings — LinkedIn CTV Ads, LinkedIn Premiere with NBCUniversal, and Live Event Ads. Advertisers can get their creative in front of the LinkedIn audience against streaming content on connected TVs with LinkedIn CTV, target U.S. decision makers across NBCUniversal’s premium CTV content with LinkedIn Premiere and promote corporate live events before, during, and after with Live Event Ads. Kantar and iSpot are offering measurement insights. Continue reading LinkedIn Gets Advertisers Connected with CTV, NBCUni Deal

Walmart is acquiring Vizio in a deal valued at $2.3 billion. The retail giant is following a template established by Amazon by expanding into entertainment media and connected TV advertising. The majority of Vizio’s growth from the last five years has come from ads on its WatchFree+ platform, which offers more than 260 channels, Walmart said touting a deal point. Vizio’s primary business is manufacturing value-priced TV sets. It also makes soundbars. The deal will instantly vault Walmart into a mix of players including Amazon, Roku, Samsung Ads and Google’s YouTube. Continue reading Walmart Bolsters Advertising Business with Vizio Acquisition

Audiences are migrating from broadcasting to streaming, and Google just announced its decision to phase out third-party cookies. What’s a marketer to do? At CES, Disney, Pfizer and GroupM marketers discussed how they plan to evolve in a changing landscape. The Walt Disney Company’s Lisa Valentino emphasized the need for interoperability of data across platforms, with the consumer at the center. GroupM debuted its Ad Innovation Accelerator to “strategize and create scalable ad formats that are designed to be ubiquitous across ad-supported streaming environments.” Partners include BrightLine, Disney, KERV, NBCUniversal, Roku, Telly and YouTube. Continue reading CES: Marketers Shift Tactics in Streaming, Post-Cookie World

Roku is following up the budget-priced, self-branded TV sets it introduced in January last year at CES with the more ambitious Roku Pro Series TV lineup debuting at next week’s CES 2024 and shipping later this spring. The 4K QLED Pro TVs will come in 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch sizes retailing for under $1,500. Included are features like Mini LED local dimming for heightened contrast and deeper blacks. The Pro TVs also tap artificial intelligence for a Smart Picture feature that automatically adjusts picture and audio. The feature is scheduled to roll out to all Roku TVs this year. Continue reading Roku to Demo Its Pro Series TVs and Smart Picture AI at CES

Alphabet-owned Google, which announced the end of its Play Movies & TV app in October 2022, now has a plan for relocating the video content that users have purchased on the service. Starting January 17, customers will be able to access their past Play Movies & TV purchases as well as active rentals on YouTube, Android TV devices, Google TV devices and the Google TV mobile app (including the iOS version). “We are making some changes to simplify how you purchase new movies or access the movies and TV shows you’ve purchased through Google,” the company explained. Continue reading Google Will Relocate Play Movies & TV Purchases in January

Netflix is expanding its cloud gaming test to the U.S. after initially deploying trials in Canada and the United Kingdom. The streaming game service builds on mobile gaming efforts the company began in 2021 and is now targeting games on connected TV devices and smart TVs, including Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, and others, with mobile phones serving as game controllers. Netflix has made no secret of its intention to make games a major part of its business, and this next step is being called a bid to take on game giants Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox.
Continue reading Netflix Streaming Game Test Expanding to U.S. TVs and PCs