Posts for 'Roku'

  • [VIDEO] Exploring CTV's Key Trends and Opportunities in 2024

    The following video was recorded at VideoNuze’s Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW: 2024 virtual on February 28, 2024.

    Exploring CTV's Key Trends and Opportunities in 2024
    TV viewership is fundamentally changing, and CTV is a clear beneficiary. In particular, ad buyers are excited about how CTV combines the best of TV advertising’s reach and impact with the best of digital advertising’s targeting and engagement. Learn about all of CTV's key trends and opportunities in 2024 and beyond.

    Beth Anderson - SVP/GM, FAST Channels & VOD Sales, BBC Studios
    Ashley Arena - Head of US Advanced Video Activation, PHD
    Carly Friedman - Head of Industry, Gaming, Tech and Telco, Roku
    David Pudjunis - VP, Revenue Operations & Digital Partnerships, AMC Networks
    Danielle DeLauro - EVP, VAB (moderator)

     

     
  • Inside the Stream: Disney, Roku, WB Discovery and Dish Q3 Results

    It’s earnings season, and on this week’s podcast, Colin and I discuss results from Disney, Roku, WB Discovery and Dish. The four companies’ subscriber counts, profitability and shifting business models all provide insights into larger industry trends and challenges.

    Listen to the podcast to learn more (37 minutes, 36 seconds)



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  • Inside the Stream: Linear TV and Pay-TV Decline; Subtitles; Roku Adds Local TV News

    First up on Inside the Stream this week Colin and I discuss the latest data from Nielsen’s The Gauge report. While it said that “linear TV” viewing fell below 50% for the first time, we explain how a more accurate headline would probably be that broadcast and cable TV viewing fell below 50%. Viewership is following along with pay-TV adoption, which we also discuss fell further in Q2 ’23.

    Also in this week’s podcast, new data shows that watching TV with subtitles has become quite popular, especially among younger audiences. Finally, The Roku Channel is going to stream local news from 30 CBS and FOX channels, further converging broadcast TV and streaming.

    Listen to the podcast to learn more (27 minutes, 7 seconds)



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  • [VIDEO] Why CTV’s March to Full-Funnel/Lower-Funnel and Shoppable TV is Inevitable

    The following video was recorded at VideoNuze’s fourth annual Connected TV Advertising Summit virtual on June 8, 2023.

    Why CTV’s March to Full-Funnel/Lower-Funnel and Shoppable TV is Inevitable
    In 2023 the vast majority of CTV ads will be bought with upper-funnel KPIs, as TV ad buyers seek to replace GRPs lost due to traditional TV’s decline and cord-cutting. With a $70 billion TV ad market in the U.S. alone, the shift from linear TV to CTV has lots of runway ahead. But more strategically significant are myriad initiatives that are transforming CTV into a full-funnel/lower-funnel channel. In an era when the importance of first-party data is rapidly increasing, engaging viewers on their TVs will soon become table stakes. In this session, learn how CTV is going to create a multibillion-dollar bonanza in shoppable TV, as well as new frontiers in content creation and personalization.

    Jenna Chen - Director, Strategy and Business Development, Partnerships, Walmart Connect
    Lindsay Pullins - Director, Ad Revenue Business Strategy, Partnerships, Roku
    Lance Wolder – Head of Strategy and Marketing, PadSquad
    Eric John - VP, Media Center, IAB (moderator)

     
  • Inside the Stream: Q1 ’23 Earnings Review: Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Pick ‘Em?

    Most media and technology companies have now reported Q1 ’23 results. We dig into who’s up, who’s down and who’s pick ‘em, and where they all might be headed. We share all this with the caveat that one quarter’s results are not the final word on a company’s ability to survive and thrive going forward. We hope we’re not in any way contributing to the short-term, quarterly performance myopia so common on Wall Street.

    Rather, we’re looking at these companies’ results in the context of prior results, the competitive landscape and their particular products’/services’ positioning. All while trying to do some basic “pattern recognition” - what have we seen before and how is this likely to play out in TV and video. Our discussion is primarily focused on Netflix, Roku, Amazon, AMC, Disney, Comcast, Vizio, YouTube, The Trade Desk, Paramount, Diamond Sports Group, Tegna, Dish and how they’re sorting themselves in the up, down and pick ‘em categories.

    Listen to the podcast to learn more (38 minutes,  50 seconds)



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  • Inside the Stream: 5 Key Takeaways from the 2023 IAB NewFronts

    I attended the 2023 IAB NewFronts earlier this week and today on Inside the Stream we discuss my 5 key takeaways. These include 1) connected TV as the dominant throughline in all the presentations, 2) an early shift in messaging around how CTV campaigns should move to more full/lower-funnel KPIs, 3) whether the overwhelming volume and pure free, ad-supported nature of FASTs should be concerning, 4) how CTV platform/glass ownership will be a critical competitive differentiator going forward, and 5) why, of the 14 presentations that I attended, three companies’ presentations stood out in particular.  

    Listen to the podcast to learn more (44 minutes, 51 seconds)




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  • Inside the Stream Podcast: Max or Min? Can Google TV Catch Up to Roku?

    This week on Inside the Stream we focus on two main topics: first, is Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to brand/bundle its streaming services under “Max” going to be successful, or is it going to be “Min” (as in have Minimum impact)? There’s little daylight between how Colin and I see things.

    Of all the many issues, to me the most worrisome is the fact that the discovery+ library is being thrown into Max for no additional cost. That means WBD assigns its incremental, measurable value in the bundle at $0.

    Next we turn our attention to the dynamics in the CTV/device industry. Colin is excited about a new initiative Google unveiled this week, where it provides improved guide/UI access to 800+ FAST channels. Colin sees this as a meaningful competitive differentiator, and believes Google TV / Android TV will grow briskly outside of the U.S. and even gain a few points of market share domestically.

    It’s hard to argue against better discovery being valuable, yet I don’t see it as a game-changer in the CTV space, at least domestically, because, well, to start with, very few people actually use Google TV domestically.

    In fact, according to insights from Beachfront’s CTV Marketplace for H2 2022, Google TV’s share of impression volume was a measly 1.9%. Meanwhile Roku, the perennial market share leader in the U.S., notched 39.2% of impressions, roughly consistent with the range I’ve seen for Roku for years.

    While Colin and I agree that Google TV / YouTube / YouTube TV is a formidable collection of assets for Google, I remain quite sanguine about Roku’s ability to compete in the land of the giants. There have been no shortage of Roku naysayers over the years, since I wrote “Scrappy Roku Makes More Deals, Keeps Elbowing Its Way Into the Big Leagues” back in January, 2013, following a keynote interview I did with CEO/Founder Anthony Wood at NATPE in Miami.

    In the 10 years since, Roku has more than held its own, and is arguably the most innovative company in the ad industry. Roku is focused and relentless, and it has a very strong talent bench. As I put it in 2013, Roku remains “more a work horse than a show horse.” As for Google, a sub-2% CTV/device share after all these years? The good news: there (continues to be) really only one way to go from here.

    Listen to the podcast to learn more (36 minutes, 47 seconds)


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  • [VIDEO] Is CTV’s Future at the Bottom of the Funnel?

    The following video was recorded at VideoNuze’s third annual Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW: 2023 virtual on February 28, 2023.

    Is CTV’s Future at the Bottom of the Funnel?
    With linear TV’s decline, CTV ad spending has surged as advertisers “follow the eyeballs” in order to achieve their reach and frequency objectives. But rather than CTV being viewed solely as a “top of funnel” branding channel, its biggest opportunity may be as a “full funnel” or even “lower funnel” opportunity. This would unlock performance-oriented advertising budgets that are based on high impact targeting and measurement, much the same as the successful playbook Google has run in search and Facebook has run in social. Learn how and when CTV may evolve into full funnel and what this means for all market participants.

    Sean Doherty, Jr. – Co-Founder and COO, Wurl
    Eric Smith – US Head of Verticals, Auto, Tech, Gaming & Entertainment, Roku
    Jen Soch – Executive Director, Channel Solutions, GroupM
    Olga Weinraub – Senior Director, Enterprise Marketing Partnerships, Cox Automotive
    Colin Dixon – Chief Analyst and Founder, nScreenMedia (moderator)

     
  • Inside the Stream Podcast: Are FASTs a Road to Gold or a Road to “SLOW?”

    On this week’s podcast, Colin Dixon and I boldly  introduce to the industry a new acronym (technically it’s a “macronym” or “nested acronym”).

    We’re all aware that free ad-supported TV (“FAST) services are currently all the rage and that many are predicting it will become a multibillion dollar streaming segment in the years ahead.  

    Content providers, TV OEMs and TV networks are seizing the opportunity by launching new FAST services to capitalize on two key trends - advertisers’ insatiable demand for premium CTV ad inventory and viewers’ SVOD fatigue especially as economic uncertainty surges.

    All of this makes FASTs a “road to gold” in the short-term.

    But, in the longer-term, an unintended consequence of FASTs’ growth may be to precipitate accelerated churn among SVOD providers. Hence the new macronym: SVOD Losses On the Way (“SLOW”).

    There are still only 24 hours in the day, and viewers constantly make choices about what to watch, what services get displaced and what they’re willing to pay for. If viewers reapportion their viewing time to strong FAST services that are flooding the market, then they’re being “trained” to consume free premium video via FASTs. Further, their expectations for ever-better shows to be accessible without payment also escalates.

    SLOW is a concept I’ve been contemplating for some time, especially as I read one FAST-boosting report or article after another, as well as observing the slowing growth SVODs are already experiencing.

    But this week’s announcements of WBD moving “Westworld” plus a trove of other programming to Tubi and to The Roku Channel FAST services really crystallized things for me. After all, “Westworld” is a show that garnered 54 Emmy nominations and 9 wins in its four-year run. Its popularity has faded recently and HBO cancelled it, but it still boasted a familiar, name-brand cast. For HBO, it was no “Game of Thrones” or “The Sopranos,” but it was respectable. Now all 36 episodes will be available completely for free on Tubi and The Roku Channel.

    To be clear - and as I say in the podcast - I remain a fan of FASTs. I’m only raising the caution flag that the decision-making around which FASTs to launch and what premium content will be included must be made with a lot of strategic awareness. Companies condition their customers what to expect; once this conditioning is set it is incredibly difficult to recondition them.

    Note: There will be a dedicated session on whether FASTs are a road to gold or a road to “SLOW” at VideoNuze’s CTV Advertising PREVIEW virtual event on Feb. 28th afternoon. Sign-up is complimentary. Initial speakers being announced next week.



    Listen to the podcast to learn more (38 minutes, 2 seconds)


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  • Inside the Stream Podcast: Roku’s Q3 Was Solid But Q4 is Uncertain

    This week on Inside the Stream nScreenMedia’s Colin Dixon and I discuss Roku’s Q3 ’22 results which were reported earlier this week. The company had a pretty strong quarter, adding 2.3 million active accounts to reach 65.4 million. Platform revenue, which includes advertising, increased 15% to $670 million. And streaming hours increased by 1.1 billion to 21.9 billion from Q2 ’22.

    While the Q3 results showed strong resiliency for Roku, company executives were less upbeat on the earnings call about Q4. While noting that the Q4 holiday season is typically the strongest period for most companies, including Roku, executives expect this year to be different. Roku has already observed a decline in “pretty much every vertical” category of advertisers due to uncertainty about an upcoming recession and is also worried about the impact of inflation on consumer spending, which hurts its device sales.

    However Roku continues to benefit from the shift in ad spending from linear to CTV, its international and original programming expansion and a new set of smart home products.

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  • Inside the Stream Podcast: Inside the Roku-HBO Max “House of the Dragon” Launch Campaign

    This week, nScreenMedia’s Colin Dixon and I welcome Grace Lam, Roku’s Director of Partner Growth as our guest. Grace takes us inside the campaign that Roku and HBO Max launched for the new TV series “House of the Dragon.” It is the biggest SVOD campaign Roku has undertaken to date, involving multiple elements. Grace walks us through the campaign’s goals, viewer benefits, success metrics and how Roku aims to have the campaign be a template for future SVOD partnerships.

    Listen to the podcast (27 minutes, 1 second)




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  • Inside the Stream Podcast: YouTube’s Strong Growth Continues in Q4

    Welcome to this week’s edition of Inside the Stream, the podcast where nScreenMedia’s Chief Analyst Colin Dixon and I take listeners inside the world of streaming video.

    Google reported another strong quarter of advertising revenue for YouTube in Q4 ’21, up 25% to over $8.6 billion. For the entire year YouTube ad revenue was nearly $29 billion. Add in subscription fees from YouTube and YouTube Premium and the company’s total revenue in 2021 was likely in the $35 billion range.

    Colin and I discuss the details. Colin also shares new data from Conviva highlighting Roku’s viewership advantage vs. all other streaming devices.

    Listen to the podcast (24 minutes, 47 seconds)


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  • [VIDEO] Publishers’ Perspectives: How to Win in the Connected Living Room

    The following session was recorded at VideoNuze's Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW: 2022 virtual conference on January 27, 2022.

    Publishers’ Perspectives: How to Win in the Connected Living Room
    Premium ad-supported video services – including on-demand, live, linear and a combination – are having a big impact as consumers augment their SVOD choices. How are publishers winning in the connected living room – gaining audiences and monetizing effectively?

    - Rob Christensen - VP, Advanced TV, Vevo
    - Daniel Church – Head of Advanced TV Product, Beachfront Media
    - Tyler Fitch – SVP, Advanced TV and Partnerships, Tubi
    - Meredith Goldman – VP, Publisher Ad Solutions, Roku
    - Colin Dixon – Founder and Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia (moderator)

     

     
  • Here's Why Not Too Long From Now, Streaming Media Players Will be Free for Certain Consumers

    All of the Cyber Monday and Black Friday deals flying around are reinforcing an idea I’ve been thinking about for much of 2021: not too long from now, some streaming media players/devices will be offered for free to certain consumers under specific circumstances.

    There are three fundamental reasons why this is likely to happen 1) The gross profit margins on these players is negligible if not non-existent, 2) The gross margin on advertising revenue for player providers is significant, and likely to strengthen even further, and 3) the entire streaming player / streaming services industry is in a massive land grab that isn’t close to being over.

    Following is how I look at the three reasons, and what comes next:

    continue reading

     
  • [VIDEO] CTV Advertising: Evolving to the Full Funnel

    The following video was recorded at VideoNuze's Connected TV Advertising Brand Suitability Summit virtual on November 17, 2021.

    CTV Advertising: Evolving to the Full Funnel
    CTV ad spending is exploding as advertisers follow viewers’ behavioral shifts in order to achieve their reach and frequency objectives. This “follow the eyeballs” strategy means there are years of strong growth ahead. But another important driver of CTV ad spending will be achieving “lower funnel” capabilities, driving advertisers’ specific KPIs. Learn how and when CTV will evolve into full funnel and what this means for the TV advertising industry.

    - Jessica Masters – Director, East Coast Sales, Roku
    - Mike Richter – VP, Global CTV Revenue Operations, Trusted Media Brands
    - Josh Sharma – VP, Advertising Partnerships, Entertainment Studios
    - Will Richmond – Editor and Publisher, VideoNuze (moderator)

    Watch the session video now!

     
  • Roku-Shopify Partnership Brings CTV Ads’ Full-Funnel Future a Step Closer

    Yesterday’s partnership announcement between Roku and Shopify brings CTV advertising another step closer to realizing its ultimate potential as a full-funnel channel for advertisers. Loyal VideoNuze readers know that I have been advocating for CTV advertising to become full-funnel for a while now (see “How CTV Advertising Can Drive Super Bowl Ads Above $10 Million Per Spot,” “Behold, YouTube,” “The CTV Advertising Flywheel is Here, and It’s Only Going to Accelerate,” and “Connected TV’s Big Opportunity at the Bottom of the Funnel.”).

    CTV advertising is of course surging these days, with eMarketer forecasting CTV ads in the U.S. alone will more than double to over $27 billion in 2021. CTV ads are benefiting from proliferating adoption of CTV devices, many new streaming services creating compelling content for audiences, cord-cutting, and massive changes in viewers’ behaviors. Still, when I talk to industry executives, there’s broad consensus that today CTV ad spending is coming mostly from the shift in spending from linear TV to CTV as advertisers seek to maintain their reach and frequency goals. In other words, CTV is mainly a “follow the eyeballs” strategy.

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  • Inside the Stream Podcast: AVOD Services Creating Original TV Shows Raises Many Questions

    Welcome to this week’s edition of Inside the Stream, the podcast where nScreenMedia’s Chief Analyst Colin Dixon and I take listeners inside the world of streaming video.

    SVOD providers have been the dominant force in creating original TV shows for streaming, but as the recent NewFronts underscored, AVOD services like Roku, Crackle, Tubi and many others are also forging ahead with their own originals.

    On today’s podcast Colin and I discuss why it’s strategic for AVODs to pursue originals, how they’ll differentiate at a time when SVOD productions are increasingly lavish, what impact lighter ad loads will have and how these originals will be available - solely on-demand or also in free ad-supported TV / FAST? It’s still quite early and there are lots of questions to consider.

    (Note: Colin will be moderating a session titled “FASTs + AVOD = Big Opportunity” at next week’s Connected TV Ad Summit virtual, with executives from Tubi, A+E Networks, Digitas and Wurl, which includes discussion of originals and ad loads. Complimentary registration!)

    Listen to the podcast (25 minutes, 16 seconds)




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  • Streaming Services Emphasize Reach to 18-49 Year Old Viewers

    If you were one of the 14,000 attendees of last week’s NewFronts presentations, a central message that you couldn’t miss was that streaming has become an essential way for advertisers to reach 18-49 year olds. The coveted age group, which has long been the bread and butter for TV networks, is rapidly shifting its video consumption behaviors, and NewFronts presenters wanted ad buyers to know that they can either follow the eyeballs or risk losing access to this huge cohort.

    Presenters expressed the message in different ways, but here are a few that caught my attention:

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  • More Proof Points of Connected TV Advertising’s Surge

    Last Thursday’s Q4 and 2020 earnings reports from The Trade Desk and Roku provide further evidence of connected TV advertising’s surge and also viewers’ significant adoption of streaming video. Because the two companies are heavily invested in connected TV advertising and provide lots of thoughtful insights on their earnings calls (transcripts here and here), their results and sentiments are valuable in gauging the state of the market. Together they provide a holistic picture of the market since The Trade Desk operates on the demand side and Roku on the supply side (primarily).

    For some time, The Trade Desk has talked about the rising importance of CTV advertising on its overall business, which continued this quarter with the pandemic accelerating key trends. Founder and CEO Jeff Green said that advertisers’ CTV spending on the platform more than doubled in 2020 (total spend, including CTV, was $4.2 billion with Q4 revenue up 48% to $320 million). Green said “more than 1,000 brands spend at least $100,000 on CTV on our platform” and that “those brands spending more than $1 million on our platform in 2020 more than doubled from a year ago.”

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  • VideoNuze Podcast #549: Digging Into Roku’s Strong Q4 Results

    Welcome to the 549th edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

    On this week’s podcast, Colin and I dig into Roku’s strong Q4 and full year 2020 results which were reported yesterday. As has been the case for the past several years, “platform” revenue, which includes Roku’s advertising business, led the way. Platform revenue reached  $471.2 million in the quarter, up 81% year-over-year. The Roku Channel was another bright spot for the company in Q4, with 175 ad-supported virtual linear channels now included.

    We discuss these and other topics, including whether Roku’s interest in original content could cause conflicts with existing content partners.

    Listen in to learn more!

    Click here to listen to the podcast (23 minutes, 10 seconds)



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