Roku is planning to start showing video ads on its home screen to boost revenues

Roku CEO, Anthony Wood, has unveiled a strategy to boost the company's revenues in 2024, during its recent quarterly earnings conference call. This comes following news that 81.6 million households used a Roku device or smart TV for streaming in Q1.

The core focus of this strategy is advertising, with Roku planning to enhance the ad experience for its users. The company has already begun to display more static ads on the screen, and is now exploring the incorporation of video ads into the home page. This move echoes Amazon's decision in December 2023 to introduce autoplay video ads on the home screen of Fire OS.

Wood also revealed during the conference that Roku is experimenting with “other types of video ad units” and exploring additional methods to introduce advertising to the Roku OS home screen.

In terms of user experience, Roku has introduced a recommended content row. This feature collates picks from various streaming services and uses AI to suggest new shows and movies to its users, tailored to their preferences.

As a platform that doesn't charge for subscriptions or content on The Roku Channel, Roku's primary source of revenue is advertising. This underscores the company's ongoing efforts to innovate and expand its ad delivery methods.