FreeWheel, the leading global technology platform, and Roku, the #1 TV streaming platform, announced a major expansion of their longstanding partnership. Building on the strong performance of their 2024 collaboration, this next phase establishes the FreeWheel Streaming Hub as a central platform for Roku Advertising, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and value for shared partners across the connected TV (CTV) marketplace.
Through this expanded partnership, Roku’s premium CTV inventory is now accessible via the FreeWheel Streaming Hub, offering buyers improved demand signals, deeper transparency, and more effective monetization opportunities. The integration also enables advertisers to access Roku inventory directly through the FreeWheel Advertiser Suite, creating greater scale and efficiency for programmatic transactions.
“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, Strategic Advertising Partnerships, Roku. “This collaboration with FreeWheel is a great opportunity to represent supply to buyers and deliver a more efficient, data-rich environment.”
The deepened integration allows Roku to seamlessly manage both direct-sold and programmatic campaigns, optimize inventory distribution, and engage new demand channels through the FreeWheel Marketplace. Participating publishers can now connect directly to Roku’s premium supply using OpenRTB-based connections for the first time, ensuring a more standardized, transparent, and efficient trading environment. Additional benefits include access to the FreeWheel Curation Hub and the FreeWheel Buyer Cloud, providing enhanced capabilities for buyers and sellers alike.
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“The combination of Roku’s scale and market leadership in CTV and FreeWheel’s premium content and direct connections make this collaboration a game changer for the CTV ad marketplace,” said Greg Bel, Vice President, Head of Supply, 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.”
Industry leaders have also expressed strong support for the collaboration, recognizing its potential to streamline premium video advertising and enhance transparency across the ecosystem.
“As one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies, NBCUniversal has long been focused on making premium video easier for advertisers to buy and measure,” said Alison Levin, President of Advertising and Partnerships at NBCUniversal. “Roku’s large scale and this expanded partnership with FreeWheel creates more transparency and efficiency across the marketplace, ultimately driving better outcomes for both advertisers and publishers.”
“As audience growth across streaming continues to accelerate, Warner Bros. Discovery is focused on maximizing the value of our premium storytelling across every platform while helping shape a more integrated and efficient premium video ecosystem,” said Jill Steinhauser, Group Senior Vice President of Platform Monetization and Partnerships at Warner Bros. Discovery. “This partnership between Roku and FreeWheel enhances our initiatives by giving advertisers greater access to streaming audiences at scale and drives more effective results for both advertisers and publishers.”