How Roku Is Powering the Next Wave of CTV Advertising

Oct 21, 2025

In a captivating discussion, Peter Hamilton, Head of Ad Innovation at Roku, delves into the dynamic world of connected TV advertising. He reveals how Roku is making CTV accessible to small businesses while helping larger brands reach new audiences. Peter discusses the revolutionary 'OK to text' feature, enhancing viewer interaction, and highlights collaborations with Amazon to improve advertising effectiveness. He also shares insights on AI in creative production and the rise of shoppable TV, painting a picture of what's next in the CTV landscape.

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INSIGHT

Performance Buyers Fuel Early CTV Growth

CTV growth is currently driven more by digital performance marketers than by casual SMBs.
Onboarding thousands of small advertisers is slow, so performance buyers supply the fastest revenue gains.

INSIGHT

No-Minimum Campaigns Enable Rapid Testing

Roku Ads Manager removed minimum commitments, enabling frequent creative and targeting tests for performance advertisers.
That flexibility lets advertisers iterate rapidly like they do on social channels.

ADVICE

Build A B2B Machine For SMB Onboarding

Build a B2B marketing machine to find and onboard SMB advertisers at scale.
Use advertising, content, automation, and follow-up to convert signups into first-dollar spend.

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In this episode of Next in Media, Mike Shields speaks with Peter Hamilton, Head of Ad Innovation at Roku, about the rapid evolution of connected TV (CTV) advertising and how Roku is bridging the gap between big-brand budgets and small-business accessibility.

Peter shares what’s really happening behind the scenes as digital-first advertisers and DTC brands move into television, the challenges of onboarding thousands of SMBs, and how Roku’s self-serve ad tools and shoppable innovations are reshaping the CTV landscape. He also explains Roku’s partnership with Amazon, the growth of shoppable TV, and why “press OK to text” could redefine viewer engagement.

With clarity and insider perspective, Peter outlines what’s next for CTV—from AI-driven creative experimentation to real-time data loops that empower advertisers of all sizes.

Key Highlights

📈 CTV’s Fastest-Growing Segment: How performance-driven advertisers, not traditional TV buyers, are fueling Roku’s rapid growth.

💡 SMBs Meet Streaming: Why onboarding small advertisers takes time—and how Roku’s self-serve tools are solving it.

📺 Amazon Partnership Explained: Why Roku isn’t competing with Amazon but collaborating to improve advertiser reach and data performance.

📱 Shoppable TV & “OK to Text”: How one button on the Roku remote is changing interactive ad engagement forever.

🧠 AI in Creative Production: The rise of self-serve advertisers testing dozens of AI-generated ads and what’s working so far.

⚙️ The Open Platform Approach: Roku’s strategy to stay partner-first while integrating performance data and real-time conversions.

Resources & Next Steps

📊 Learn about Roku’s performance tools and integrations
🎧Subscribe to Next in Media on Apple Podcasts

YouTube Chapter Timestamps

00:00 Setting the stage – CTV’s transformation

00:53 Introducing Peter Hamilton of Roku

02:00 Why new advertisers are coming to TV

03:31 The challenge of onboarding SMBs

05:01 How performance marketers are driving CTV growth

06:07 Roku Ads Manager and self-serve evolution

07:32 Moving beyond search and social saturation

09:12 Why analysts underestimate CTV’s growth

10:02 Fundamentals of marketing still apply

11:18 Building new DR paths for DTC brands

12:28 How Roku attracts small businesses

13:59 Success stories: Shopify and Fatty 15

15:15 What’s holding CTV adoption back?

16:00 Inside Roku’s partnership with Amazon

17:51 The open-platform strategy

18:52 Acquiring Friendly and launching Howdy

20:25 Experimenting with subscription bundles

21:15 The rise of shoppable TV and “OK to Text”

22:51 How interactivity and texting are becoming normalized

24:18 Building habitual shoppable behavior

25:43 Why creative clarity drives conversions

26:54 The future of AI-generated ads on CTV

27:46 Data loops, APIs, and intelligent optimization

28:04 Closing thoughts – what’s next for CTV advertising