Comcast’s FreeWheel streaming advertising platform and Roku are expanding their partnership by bringing activation of the latter’s premium Connected TV supply through the FreeWheel Streaming Hub.
At the same time, the companies say, the pact creates greater scale for buyers to transact more efficiently with Roku inventory, with a direct path to the FreeWheel Advertiser Suite.
“At Roku, we want to create better outcomes for all of our advertisers and content partners, with more transparency and streamlined workflows,” said Miles Fisher, Senior Director of Strategic Advertising Partnerships at Roku. “This collaboration with FreeWheel is a great opportunity to represent supply to buyers and deliver a more efficient, data-rich environment.”
With this deeper collaboration, Roku can seamlessly manage direct-sold and programmatic campaigns and distribution inventory, as well as tap into demand via the FreeWheel Marketplace. Participating publishers have direct access, and for the first time, they can connect directly to Roku’s supply in the FreeWheel Marketplace, through a standardized, Open Real-Time Bidding-based connection.
Additional enhancements include direct access to the FreeWheel Curation Hub and Freewheel Buyer Cloud.
“The combination of Roku’s scale and market leadership in Connected TV and FreeWheel’s premium content and direct connections make this collaboration a game changer for the CTV ad marketplace,” said Greg Bel, Vice President and Head of Supply at FreeWheel. “Our expanded partnership is a marked transformation, as Roku shifts from a demand partner to a full platform client, truly impacting our mutual partners by giving them the ease, speed, and precision they asked for.”
