Viacom and streaming platform specialist Roku are partnering to enable Viacom to utilise aggregated audience insights from Roku to deliver targeted advertising on the Roku platform. According to the pair, this first-of-its-kind partnership between an over-the-top (OTT) platform and programmer is the latest illustration of the power of OTT advertising.

“Viacom’s unique partnership with Roku extends our game-changing ecosystem, bringing targeted advertising at scale in a way that – until now – was not available in the premium television environment,” said Kern Schireson, EVP Data Strategy and Consumer Intelligence, Viacom. “With this partnership, we can deliver more relevant messages to Roku consumers for products and services that interest them. This is the first time dynamic, 1:1 advertising will be possible as part of a larger linear TV buy. Advertising experiences like this are more impactful for both consumers and marketers.”

Viacom will be the first programmer to leverage aggregate data from Roku to deliver messages to custom audience segments on the Roku platform. The effort is an extension of Viacom’s proven leadership in advanced advertising, whose main objective is to bring advanced digital advertising capabilities to TV platforms. Roku boasts a highly engaged audience. In 2015, Roku users streamed 5.5 billion hours of content.

“The beauty of the Roku platform is that it offers full screen, 100 per cent viewable video for advertisers, while also enabling all the targeting, interactivity and measurement of digital,” said Scott Rosenberg, VP of Advertising, Roku. “We’re committed to helping our publishers more effectively monetise in OTT. As a clear leader in advanced TV advertising, Viacom was a natural partner. Partnerships like this also help ensure the continued growth and vibrancy of free, ad-supported programming for Roku consumers.”

Categories: Advertising, Articles, Broadcast, Connected TV, OTT, OTT, Targetted