Known for its cost-benefit and entry-level TVs, the Roku will now display video advertisements on the home screen. The interest was confirmed by the company itself in a conference call in which it spoke about its recent results. Previously, Roku stuck to static ads and will now approach new ways.
It is worth noting that video ads already are part of the Smart TV and streaming ecosystem, now how they are displayed is something that has varied from device to device. Roku has not provided further information on when or how it intends to make this change in advertising display, but we know it shouldn’t take long.
The earnings call was led by Roku’s CEO, Anthony Wood, and it was he who made the announcement that his platform will start displaying advertisements. Wood also explained that the company has been studying other video ad unit formats to improve video advertising. Check out the full quote:
But to give you some examples of the types of things we see on the home screen, on today’s home screen there is the main video app that we call Marquee and that has traditionally been a static ad. Let’s add video to this ad. This will be the first video ad we add to the home screen. This will be a big change for us.
We’re also testing other types of video ad units, looking for other experiences we can add to the home screen that can further innovate video advertising. So that’s something we’re looking into.
Roku’s CEO highlights Marquee, but apparently there’s nothing called that on the home screen. So it’s difficult to say what the initial part is where the manufacturer has planned to introduce its first video advertising.
