When I became President of Roku Media last year, it was clear to me that Roku occupied a powerful place in the TV landscape. I wanted to lean into that strength, helping advertisers benefit from our position as the lead-in in to TV for U.S. households with nearly 120 million people who experience Roku every day in America.
At our recent Roku NewFront presentation, I had the opportunity to share with our partners exactly how we’re doing that. The response was overwhelming, and so I’m delighted to reveal a little more of our vision for a future where Roku helps return TV to its legacy of scale and simplicity.
First, a little historical perspective….
TV used to be so incredibly simple.
Fifty years ago, the number one show on television was All In The Family. Thirty percent of America watched it every week – at the same time and on the same network (Saturdays at 8 on CBS). Back then, audiences discovered what to watch via the TV Guide and then often stuck around to see what was on next. Advertisers had it easy too, with just a few channels and dayparts to choose from.
Since then, as you know, that TV puzzle has gotten infinitely more complicated. An endless tangle of TV streaming apps has presented audiences with an overwhelming paradox of choice. Even our sports are spread across myriad providers and platforms – making games hard for fans to find. There’s only one Taylor Swift Bowl.
This fragmentation has led to an epidemic of churn. According to Antenna, Churn across the premium streaming ecosystem has increased 40% in the last 30 months, and one-third of all new subscribers to paid streaming services are now Serial Churners – subscribers who sign up, binge, and cancel services at least three times a year.
For advertisers, it’s even messier. The splintering of viewer attention and the displacement of appointment viewing have made it impossible to reach mass audiences, with very rare exceptions. The siloing of the television impressions - and data - across myriad walled gardens makes buying CTV media far more complex than it should be and far less transparent than it needs to be.
The painful truth is, for TV viewers and advertisers alike, the TV experience has gotten worse. Frustration is at an all-time high.
That’s where Roku comes in. Roku is America's #1 TV streaming platform by hours streamed. With mass scale every day, and the best streaming experience, ROKU SIMPLIFIES TV. Audiences enjoy the Roku experience that greets them when they turn on their TV. They aren’t lost or confused. They know exactly where to look for all the TV they love. If you’re a Roku user, then you already know how easy, stress free and delightful our TV experience is.
We do this for publishers too. I believe, programmers like Apple, Hulu, Disney and Prime all know that Roku surfaces their TV content better than any other TV user experience, helping audiences find great TV without plodding through a corn maze of options. For our 82 million Roku streaming households, Roku is the lead-in.
And for advertisers who have been left to piece together small scraps of attention, we’ve made it our mission to bring reach and simplicity back to the TV buying experience.
I came to Roku, in large part, to accomplish this. Working with our visionary CEO Anthony Wood – the Thomas Edison of streaming TV – I knew we could be the first to program a television platform for the new era.
The Roku Experience is the solution to TV advertising’s fragmentation because we deliver enormous scale daily, capturing that mass audience’s attention with powerful ad experiences at all stages of their streaming journey.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a NewFront presentation without a few big reveals, and Roku had plenty of exciting opportunities for advertisers. These include a 2024 NBC Olympics Zone in partnership with NBCUniversal, immersive home screen ad experiences, and expanded partnerships with The Trade Desk and iSpot to better measure and deliver TV advertising, for all. Learn more about our NewFront announcements.
I look forward to working with you in the months ahead to align your brands with the many unmissable content and advertising experiences on our platform.
It’s all on Roku.
Sincerely,
Charlie Collier