Expanding on a partnership established late last year, Roku has made its premium connected TV ad inventory available on FreeWheel’s Streaming Hub.
Roku’s CTV supply can now be activated through the Comcast advanced ad unit’s Streaming Hub with what FreeWheel described as improved demand signals, more transparency and more efficient monetization. The strategic expansion also creates greater scale for buyers to transact more efficiently with Roku inventory, with a direct path to the FreeWheel Advertiser Suite.
With this deeper collaboration, Roku said it can better manage direct-sold and programmatic campaigns and distribution inventory, and tap into demand via the FreeWheel Marketplace. And for the first time, participating publishers can connect directly to Roku’s supply in the FreeWheel Marketplace, through a standardized, open real-time bidding-based connection. Additional enhancements include direct access to the FreeWheel Curation Hub and Freewheel Buyer Cloud.
Engagement on the Roku TVOS platform reached 35.4 billion streaming hours in the second quarter, up about 15% YoY. With its CTV pole position — Roku is the most widely used TV streaming platform in the U.S. by hours streamed — has come significantly increased engagement for The Roku Channel FAST, which the company said was the No. 2 app on the platform in Q2. The Roku Channel saw its share of monthly U.S. TV viewing spike from 1.6% in August 2024 to 2.8% in August 2025.
Alongside growth, Roku has entered into a number of partnerships to expand the means for advertisers to connect with its commercial inventory. In June, for instance, Roku signed a deal enabling advertisers to access its vast CTV inventory via Amazon’s demand-side platform.
“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,” said Alison Levin, president of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, in a testimonial statement.
Added Jill Steinhauser, group senior VP 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.”