Roku and The Trade Desk Partner to Enhance TV Ad Control

These days, at their annual ad pitches, companies don’t only tout their content slate. In 2024’s IAB NewFronts, the tech targeting offering is being showcased, too.

At its event in New York today, Roku announced it would let The Trade Desk customers harness its automated content recognition (ACR) data, in a sign that the leading US streaming platform is lighting-up more programmatic TV services.

In this interview with Beet.TV editorial director Lisa Granatstein, Miles Fisher, Sr. Director, Strategic Advertising Partnerships, Roku, explains the partnership.

Opening Up Programmatic

“They are the largest independent ad tech on the buy side, and we are the largest streaming OS,” declares Fisher.

Roku had already allowed its direct advertisers to use Roku’s knowledge of viewer behavior, including ad exposure, to understand and optimize campaigns.

The partnership extends that capability to The Trade Desk customers. Roku says it offers the ability to suppress streaming ads shown to viewers who may have already seen the same ad on linear TV.

Data-Driven Advertising Insights

Fisher explains that advertisers canset up deal IDs that facilitate smarter strategies, such as linear suppression or extension.

With Roku’s position as the largest streaming operating system comes a big and diverse supply of advertising inventory.

Fisher is confident that the partnership will bring “incredibly high match rates” and “data fidelity that allows audiences to scale.”

Looking Ahead with Optimism

Roku had previously targeted working more closely with programmatic ad demand platform providers.

“We want to really be leaders in programmatic,” Fisher tells Beet.TV. The vision for Roku extends to performance-driven solutions that transform television into an “outcome-based channel.”

According to Fisher, the partnership with The Trade Desk is “the first of many” such ventures that will shape the landscape of streaming.

Roku’s NewFronts Roster

Roku’s NewFronts pitch also included:

• Peacock’s NBC Olympic Zone coming to Roku ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
• Expanded measurement partnership with iSpot.tv, encompassing reach, frequency, ad exposures and outcomes for both direct and programmatic advertisers.
• New-look Home Screen ads, with Fan and Theme Experiences.
• Advertiser Showroom format, for immersive creative.
• New ad experiences in Roku City, the screensaver background on Roku’s Home Screen.
• New Roku Originals starring Keane Reeves, John Cena and more, plus extensions for some existing shows.