Forum Discussion

cocotower's avatar
cocotower
Roku Guru
8 years ago

SDK Revenue Split AdUrl ?

Hello guys, after digging through tons of document pages I barely found hidden in the plain text of one page the statement that the default Ad Url is for development purposes only and you will not receive any revenue from ads shown.  On another page it says that if you want to use the revenue split plan then just use the default AdUrl.  The default AdUrl as far as I know is "unknown" because to use the default we are told to not issue the .AdUrl command.  Then I came across the text on a large page that says to e-mail the ad exec for details on using an Ad Url for Roku ads.

When I first started my channel it was Direct Published, and the ads showed up fine, and after a few days or maybe a week the default Roku ads were replaced with other company ads which I thought was making progress.  When I switched to the SDK version of my channel, all I've seen is Roku ads for weeks.  I fear that my viewers are also annoyed with this problem.

Can SOMEONE at Roku please explain if an Ad Url is required or not or if the default Url will eventually start generating real ads that pay, and also what is the purpose of not putting the required Ad Url in the user's channel management session so that it's obvious that he needs it in order to earn ad revenue.  Is there a reason why there is conflicting and confusing information about the Ad Url ?

Please help.
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13 Replies

  • renojim's avatar
    renojim
    Community Streaming Expert
    8 years ago
    It's probably not the AdUrl that's the problem.  I use the same URL for all my channels (I think it's the default, but I'd have to double check).  When I added RAF to one of my existing channels, I expected it to just get picked up automatically.  That didn't happen.  Someone at Roku has to "throw the switch" before you'll start getting real ads and getting paid.

    Try to email partnerSuccess @roku.com - I think that's the best way to get a real person to respond.  If not, someone please inform us.

    -JT
  • cocotower's avatar
    cocotower
    Roku Guru
    8 years ago
    I have yet to see a definition of "default URL".  I assume that it means whatever URL is hidden inside of the RokuAds component and that by supplying no URL manually, you opt into using the unknown default.  I would simply like to get my pre-roll ads going again since my channel is almost a clone of the older Direct Publisher version that Roku quickly started showing real ads on.

    And if today magically Geico starts showing ads like they did on my DP channel, that I am actually getting revenue from this instead of finding out 4 months from now I didn't put in the right AdUrl to get paid.  This is ridiculous.
  • renojim's avatar
    renojim
    Community Streaming Expert
    8 years ago
    The bottom line is that I doubt the URL has anything to do with it. Until your channel gets entered into some database, you're not getting paid.

    -JT
  • NB_'s avatar
    NB_
    Roku Guru
    8 years ago
    "cocotower" wrote:
    I would simply like to get my pre-roll ads going again since my channel is almost a clone of the older Direct Publisher version that Roku quickly started showing real ads on.

    Your app needs to be properly set up by our AdOps on the server-side, so it will be provisioned with real ads. It is not related to having to use a custom URL (btw, where did you read it, that's outdated info - at least for the common case of revenue split - let me know so we can fix?). Is it public, have you checked the box that it is ad-monetizing? If so, my understanding is that as part of cert. test they'd have verified ad implementation and perhaps explicitly reached out if any concerns, then "flip the switch".
  • coldrain's avatar
    coldrain
    Binge Watcher
    8 years ago
    I'm also very confusing with how to make ads work properly. Look like there is not any straight forward procedure to enable it.
    I emailed partnersucces and they provide me a "roku_test_tag" which contains an ads URL. Passing that ads URL to setAdUrl API, I can see a pre-roll ads appear in my channel. But I have no idea how Roku can know that ads is playing from my channel to manage revenue (I look at the URL and don't see any kind of id that associated to my channel). I contacted partnersuccess again but didn't get response.
    Another problem is that I always see the same ads after several days test, user will get mad if they see the same ads every time.
  • NB_'s avatar
    NB_
    Roku Guru
    8 years ago
    "coldrain" wrote:
    I'm also very confusing with how to make ads work properly. Look like there is not any straight forward procedure to enable it.
    I emailed partnersucces and they provide me a "roku_test_tag" which contains an ads URL. Passing that ads URL to setAdUrl API, I can see a pre-roll ads appear in my channel. But I have no idea how Roku can know that ads is playing from my channel to manage revenue (I look at the URL and don't see any kind of id that associated to my channel). I contacted partnersuccess again but didn't get response.
    Another problem is that I always see the same ads after several days test, user will get mad if they see the same ads every time.

    I had a quick look and i think i found what tag that roku_test_tag.txt was. Totally unrelated - that was only to do a quick check on our side about certain behaviors. Do not use that tag in production, it indeed has no way to identify and credit your app for ads run. For production and to use Roku ad inventory, you won't have to setAdUrl() - the default one will work, just make sure you hear back from us that your specific channel number has been approved and switched to receive ads from real, billable campaigns.
  • coldrain's avatar
    coldrain
    Binge Watcher
    8 years ago
    Alright, so are you saying the info at this link is not correct ?

    https://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/sdkdoc/Integrating+the+Roku+Advertising+Framework#IntegratingtheRokuAdvertisingFramework-setAdUrl(urlasString)


    it says
    You can only receive payment for ads shown in your application when the Roku Ad Framework is properly configured with a valid URL assigned by your ad service or by Roku. Please contact [email=advertising@roku.com:2ups0z31]advertising@roku.com[/email:2ups0z31] to discuss monetization options and obtain an ad URL if you wish to use Roku to fill ad inventory in your application. Using the default URL is useful only for development and testing purposes and you will not receive payment for ad impressions from the default URL.



    Above page also contradict with below info at https://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/sdkdoc ... +Framework


    Revenue Split
    Since by default, any ads served without an ad server URL will be served by a Roku ad server, you can omit the URL argument, or the setAdUrl() call entirely, for revenue split agreements.

  • NB_'s avatar
    NB_
    Roku Guru
    8 years ago
    "coldrain" wrote:
    Alright, so are you saying the info at this link is not correct ?

    it's outdated. once upon a time, a custom-fitted URL was needed for each channel.
    we have better technologies now. custom URL is not necessary for Roku reps these days.
  • cocotower's avatar
    cocotower
    Roku Guru
    8 years ago
    I have 3 boxes checked at once:
     I will show ads
     I will have subscription products
     I will have one-time products

    I have the channel store features working good, but the ads are repeating the same 3-4 Roku jingles for weeks now.

    Please, guys.
  • NB_'s avatar
    NB_
    Roku Guru
    8 years ago
    "cocotower" wrote:
    I have the channel store features working good, but the ads are repeating the same 3-4 Roku jingles for weeks now.
    Please, guys.

    cocotower - did you (you = cocotower) email partnerSuccess @roku.com, as i suggested above?
    if not - do so first, complain later. your app needs to be approved for ads and enabled server-side first.
    if yes and things are not working out, PM me your email, so i can have a look/ask around.