What you need to know
- Roku CEO Anthony Wood said during a first-quarter earnings call that the company plans to introduce more video ads on the home screen.
- Wood said there are plans to bring “other types” of video ad units to the home screen that are currently being tested, as well as new experiences for ads.
- Roku was also spotted filing a patent in early April that involved displaying advertisements on a user’s device via HDMI.
Roku is preparing to introduce more video-based ads on its home screen, perhaps reflecting its first-quarter performance.
According to Cord Cutter News, the company’s CEO Anthony Wood discussed launching more video ads during a first-quarter earnings conference call. The question was about how Roku plans to handle advertising revenue in the second quarter of 2024.
Wood explained: “But to give you some examples of the things we see on the home screen: On the home screen today there is the leading video app, which we called Marquee, which has traditionally been a static display. We “We will add a video to this ad.”
He added that this “will be the first video ad we add to the home screen. This will be a big change for us.”
Roku’s CEO teases that the company is testing “other types” of video ads. It’s unclear what these additional ad units might look like, but we’ll likely find out once they arrive. Additionally, Wood states that Roku is interested in offering users new experiences on the home screen, which still has to do with advertising.
The company wants to “innovate” its video advertising space through its home screen approach. There is speculation that Roku is moving in this direction due to its weak performance in the first quarter of 2024. The company reportedly lost revenue despite adding 1.6 million new users.
Interestingly, Roku’s decision to add more video ads to its home screen comes a few weeks after the discovery of a strange patent. Lowpass discovered a Roku patent in which the company displays advertisements on devices that users have connected to their TVs via HDMI. This apparently applies to Roku TV owners, and the ads would only appear during game breaks and more.
Earlier this month, Roku released an update to improve the user experience with its software. In addition to IMDB ratings and trailers, the patch also included Roku Smart Picture, which adjusts your TV depending on what you’re watching. Additionally, Background allows users to turn their TVs into digital photo albums as well as a selection of artwork.