In the mid-nineties, Roku founder Anthony Wood faced a problem: how to record his favourite show, Star Trek: The Next Generation , without the frustration of physically taping each episode and managing a growing collection of videotapes. After spotting an ad for hard drives in his local newspaper, Wood was inspired and invented the DVR (digital video recorder). But in solving one problem, Wood saw an opportunity to solve others: what if it were easier for viewers to watch what they want, when they want? What if there were a better way for more creators to deliver great content to the audiences that they want to reach? And what if marketers could unlock greater value by combining the power of TV with the precision of digital advertising? In the early 2000s, more than 80% of households in the US were connected to traditional paid TV services offering hundreds of channels. While some might have assumed the future of TV had arrived, Wood believed the internet held the potential to transform TV. Nevertheless, to make that vision a reality, the TV itself would need to have an operating system. This led Wood to create the world’s first and only purpose-built TV OS (operating system), transforming the TV set from a simple one-way receiver into an internet-enabled device connecting viewers to a growing library of content available online. Roku launched its first streaming player in 2008. The streaming revolution now had a platform. Viewers loved it. Within six years, the company sold more than ten million devices. Roku now has tens of millions of active accounts worldwide. Roku’s US active account base has surpassed the number of US video subscribers for all cable companies combined. And Roku is the number one TV streaming platform by hours streamed in the US, Canada and Mexico according to Hypothesis Group, October 2021. Programmers and content creators loved it. The years since Roku launched have witnessed, by far, the greatest explosion in content creation in history. Today, thousands of scripted and unscripted TV shows are distributed in the US alone, along with tens of thousands of others produced for audiences around the A brief history of Roku
the genius of programme makers to develop the next generation of content experiences. And there is a role for curation, marketing and publicity to create an event around a new show or tap into a social or political trend. What do you think the future holds for personalisation tools within broadcast? The application of technology goes beyond content discovery. AI-driven innovation will continue to play a pivotal role in enabling broadcasters to deliver highly targeted and engaging content to audiences. From advanced recommendation algorithms to interactive features such as shoppable adverts, personalisation tools will enable broadcasters, brands and content owners to build deeper connections with viewers while maximising engagement and retention. Personalisation tools are expanding beyond recommendations to include interactive features such as shoppable adverts and dynamic advertising insertion. These tools enable broadcasters and advertisers to create immersive, interactive content experiences, creating deeper engagement opportunities.
THE STREAMING REVOLUTION With the opportunity to offer targeted content to users, broadcasters can increase user engagement significantly
Personalisation tools will help build deeper connections with viewers
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