Roku has announced the launch of Advertising Watermark, a free technology, designed to help advertisers and publishers validate the authenticity of video ads originating on the Roku platform.
Device spoofing occurs when scammers pretend that a desktop or mobile device is a TV streaming device. Roku’s Advertising Watermark integrates with the Roku operating system to automatically verify publisher ad requests and impressions so that advertisers know they are reaching genuine Roku users. While ad spoofing in TV streaming remains rare, this technology will help the industry deter bad actors and improve ad effectiveness.
Ad technology providers Basis Technologies, Google, HUMAN, Innovid, and Magnite have already announced that they will be integrating Roku’s Advertising Watermark at launch.
“As America’s No. 1 TV Streaming Platform, we are uniquely positioned to help the industry preempt device spoofing,” said Louqman Parampath, VP of Product Management, Roku. “This is powerful and free technology that will help advertisers accelerate their shift to TV streaming with even more confidence.”
Among the broadcasters to adopt the technology are Discovery and Fox. “Roku’s Advertising Watermark assures our advertiser clients that they are buying genuine Discovery inventory on Roku devices,” said Bill Murray, Vice President, Programmatic Solutions, Discovery. “We’re excited that Roku has brought its data, operating system, and ad technology together to easily prevent ad spoofing.”
OneView by Roku will be the first ad buying platform to offer ad inventory automatically validated by Roku’s Advertising Watermark.
