Roku is on a mission to create TV made better for everyone. And we believe that TV made better is more inclusive, too. Since all TV -- and TV advertising -- will one day be streamed, we want to create a more equitable experience on our platform, including for women and girls on screen.
We know that we’re not alone in this. Creating meaningful change takes collaboration, an inclusive mindset, and patience driven by many firsts.
TV streaming has ushered in many firsts. TV streaming captured more viewers than both cable and broadcast TV for the first time in July 2022.¹ In another first, adoption of ad-supported streaming services exceeded adoption of subscription-based streaming services.² And, TV streaming became the first place where women finally represent 50 percent of major characters on-screen.³
These milestones show how TV streaming is uniquely suited to meaningful change. The cord-cutting trend shows no signs of slowing, putting streaming platforms at the forefront of change. This shift provides both an obvious opportunity and responsibility to accurately reflect women and girls at every point of the TV streamer’s journey.
Amplifying inclusive content
We’re living in a golden age of content, but discovery during the streamer’s journey across shows, services, and screens can be challenging. A Nielsen study found that streamers typically spend 11 minutes making a streaming selection, a 52% increase since 2019.⁴
Roku helps streamers find more of the content they love—quickly and seamlessly. To help streamers discover inclusive content, we have introduced carefully curated Inclusion Zones such as Women’s Voices and Black Voices Zone, which puts women and girls front and center. These are curated in partnership across Roku’s Merchandising and Inclusion teams, and internal employee resource groups.
Roku can also work with brands to surround other female content-led experiences within The Roku Channel. These playlists can feature female athletes, pop divas, mujeres poderosas, and so much more.
Supporting inclusive content
Roku Originals’ mission is to create shows with heart and hope that mirror the diversity of our audience. Roku's extensive first-party audience data shows that households with women are more likely to search for titles with strong female leads, demonstrating that female Roku streamers see themselves in the content they watch.⁵
These insights inspired us to develop more unmissable content with strong female leads on both sides of the camera. In our first year of Roku Originals, we launched:
- Honest Renovations (Coming soon to The Roku Channel) - Best friends Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis, the founder and editor of The Cool Mom Co., reflect on the beauty and challenges of parenthood as they help deserving families complete life-changing home renovations.
- Mamas – This short-form docu-series follows the animal kingdom’s formidable matriarchs as they protect their young in the wild. The series, narrated by Connie Britton and Zoë Saldaña, is available in both English and Spanish.
- Meet Me In Paris – This first-of-its-kind reality “rom-com” movie, from executive producers Reese Witherspoon and Zoë Saldaña, takes us along for the journeys of three women who travel to Paris to find true love.
- Slip – In this female-led comedy created by Zoey Lister-Jones, a woman travels through parallel universes trying to find her way back to her partner and herself. Lister-Jones is one of the few females to have written, directed, produced, and starred in a show.
Creating inclusive content
Our advertising partners can use Roku’s unique platform to create short and long-form content, share their brand stories, and elevate women’s voices.
For example, streamers can explore underrepresented women’s stories in an award-winning series like The Lesbian Bar Project, a documentary produced in collaboration with Jägermeister that illuminates the nation’s declining number of lesbian bars. Our advertising partners can also collaborate with Roku and emerging underrepresented filmmakers to produce female-driven short-form films like Roku’s “The Shortlist.”
Let’s build TV made better, together
We believe that each first moves us closer to gender parity in media. To help increase the representation and accurate portrayals of women and girls in streaming, Roku is thrilled to participate in our first SheFront with the organization SeeHer.
SeeHer's tagline is: If you can see her, you can be her.
By amplifying, supporting, and creating authentic, real-life portrayals of women and girls, we can help shape a more inclusive future. Roku is excited to be part of building a better world, starting right here in Roku City.
For us, for them, let’s lead the way.
Alison Levin
Roku
SeeHer and ANA members can register to attend SeeHer’s annual SheFront here.
¹ Nielsen (August 2022). "Streaming claims largest piece of TV viewing pie in July."
² Comscore. | June, 2022 | AdExchanger
³ Lauzen, Martha, M. (October 2022). "Boxed In: Women On Screen and Behind the Scenes on Broadcast and Streaming Television in 2021-22."
⁴ Nielsen
⁵ Roku internal data, 2023 | Female household is a household that includes 1 or more females.
