Amazon and Roku ink CTV ad alliance serving 80 million homes

Amazon Ads and Roku are launching an exclusive connected TV advertising alliance, granting marketers access to Roku’s audience and a combined reach of an estimated 80 million U.S. households through Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP), all set to roll out by Q4 2025. This move leverages a shared ad identifier to streamline ad buying across their significant CTV footprints.

Strength in numbers: The collaboration will give advertisers access to inventory on both Roku and Amazon Fire TV operating systems, including apps like The Roku Channel and Prime Video, plus content from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. This reach covers over 80% of U.S. CTV homes, according to Comscore data cited in their announcement, relying on a custom identity resolution service to recognize logged-in viewers.

Early ad advantage: Initial tests of the integration showed promising results, with advertisers reportedly achieving a 40% increase in unique viewers and a nearly 30% reduction in ad over-frequency using the same budget. Paul Kotas, SVP of Amazon Ads, described the partnership as a “giant leap for advertisers,” enabling full-funnel campaign outcomes while cutting media waste.

Strategic stagecraft: Launched as the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity kicks off, the timing points to a bid for the global advertising industry’s focus. While Roku has existing DSP partnerships, this exclusive deal for its authenticated inventory via a shared ID marks a new strategic direction, with Roku Media President Charlie Collier highlighting the unified, future-ready solution.

Ad landscape shifts: This alliance significantly consolidates CTV ad buying power, offering marketers potentially unmatched scale but also concentrating access through Amazon’s platform, a development the industry will watch closely. In related moves, Roku recently bolstered its ad tech leadership with a new VP hire. The competitive CTV ad space also saw Samsung launch its own interactive ad format earlier this year, while the Amazon-Roku news reportedly gave Roku shares a boost with investors.