Roku Developer Program

[RobSMS]

I can't seem to find a solid answer about this other than on one post on the DevBlog.

We were contacted by a Advertising company that specializes in OTT/IPTV.    They use their own library to deliver ads, not RAF.

According to this post, RAF is required for advertising supported channels.  When I inquired about this their representative said:

In terms of the link you sent - this article is written on a blog by some developer. It is not part of official Roku guidelines.

So, can I get a firm "yes" or "no" on this?  

[RokuKC]

"RobSMS" wrote:
I can't seem to find a solid answer about this other than on one post on the DevBlog.

We were contacted by a Advertising company that specializes in OTT/IPTV.    They use their own library to deliver ads, not RAF.

According to this post, RAF is required for advertising supported channels.  When I inquired about this their representative said:

In terms of the link you sent - this article is written on a blog by some developer. It is not part of official Roku guidelines.

So, can I get a firm "yes" or "no" on this?  

I'll leave it to developer support to give you an official answer, but I'll note that the developer blog post you referenced was in fact written by a Roku employee, not "some developer".

[RobSMS]

I'll leave it to developer support to give you an official answer, but I'll note that the developer blog post you referenced was in fact written by a Roku employee, not "some developer"

Thank!   I assumed that was the case, but thought I should double check before I replied. 

[EnTerr]

"RobSMS" wrote:
So, can I get a firm "yes" or "no" on this?

Haha, i doubt you will receive clear answer in open text here - but let's see!

Your emailer is right, that statement there is not binding, although it may hint the Co's attitude to this. I could imagine one "lparampath" would like everyone to use Co's RAF because that way the Co keeps tabs on what and when was played and can demand "wetting their beak" in ad revenue. That does not mean RAF is universally enforced though. 

The dev.blog has a history of making misleading statements, e.g. a few months back when it caused panic by demanding "All channels on the Roku platform MUST support deep linking" - and that all channels should support all current models. Both patently false but the dev.relators don't seem to give a flying FAQ on fixing the wording, see the commends at the end.

[RobSMS]

If only advertising@roku.com would respond to my request to be included in the Roku advertising setup, I wouldn't have to go through the headache of dealing with these 3rd party advertising companies.   7 email now with no response... not even an "Out of Office" reply.

I love Roku... it's a great product, but I find myself constantly frustrated at the developer relations and the lack of responses on questions that should be easily answered.

[EnTerr]

"RobSMS" wrote:
If only advertising@roku.com would respond to my request to be included in the Roku advertising setup, I wouldn't have to go through the headache of dealing with these 3rd party advertising companies.   7 email now with no response... not even an "Out of Office" reply.

I love Roku... it's a great product, but I find myself constantly frustrated at the developer relations and the lack of responses on questions that should be easily answered.

I'd say "RokuJoel will connect you" but he's no more with us apparently.
Try jcarter@roku.com - from the original announcement. 

Fair warning: JohnC is unreliable and RokuCo's ad program has a distinct quality of a mirage. In that money seem within a grasp - but when you reach, it ain't there. I started the process beginning of 2016 and still haven't - just a moment! (quick check of bank account) - yes, still haven't seen a cent. I had the ads working in April, in June i found out the ads people missed setting up reporting on my ads (pretty absurd, sure) - but through the persistent efforts of MikeG (one of the unsung heroes at the Co), wrongs are being righted, an arrears invoice was sent and ... now we wait some more, the Roku ads lord&savior has been sitting on the invoice for almost a month (aging it like a fine wine?!).

My experience is not isolated - i talked to 3 of the lead indie developers that had jumped on the RAF bandwagon and they all had horror stories^ to share. Here is excerpt from one^^ of them: "It took me quite a lot of stress, a ton of emails, and 8 months of begging and harassing anyone and everyone to get any money at all... a real awful situation. I literally lost a lot of sleep over it. It's the main reason I stopped releasing on roku, even though I have like 3 more already written over the previous months that I probably should've published."

In other words - bring lots of food and warm clothes for the road, it's gonna be frosty.

(^) coincidentally now i am watching a marathon of "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror" 😛
(^^) the complaints of the others were so alike, i don't think i am in danger of revealing the exact source

[RobSMS]

I'd say "RokuJoel will connect you" but he's no more with us apparently.

Try jcarter@roku.com - from the original announcement[/url:3f6kmo4b]. 

Yeah, I've tried that one as well.   I really have to wonder what is the point of offering an Ad service that is mandatory if you can't sign up for it?
But then again, if they aren't paying out on time and seem to have issues tracking views, I'd rather not use it and just keep doing SVOD instead. 

[EnTerr]

"RobSMS" wrote:
Yeah, I've tried that one as well.   I really have to wonder what is the point of offering an Ad service that is mandatory if you can't sign up for it?
But then again, if they aren't paying out on time and seem to have issues tracking views, I'd rather not use it and just keep doing SVOD instead. 

The fable of the dog in the manger comes to mind :twisted:
"for they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of oxen, for neither does he eat hay nor does he let the oxen eat"

[RobSMS]

And another week without so much as a hint of an answer....    :shock:

[EnTerr]

"RobSMS" wrote:
And another week without so much as a hint of an answer....   :shock:

In modern times, I don't think you can get much help on this here - there are only couple of Roku engineers that drop by the forum on voluntarily basis - and their hands are already full with technical stuff. Dev.relations are MIA (i'll be charitable and assume because pending release   8-) )

You may try "going rogue", like finding the VP of advertisement on linkedin and sending them a clear and reasonable email (take a stab at what the email address is) on your tribulations. Link to this thread, enumerate the dates you sent emails and such. In my limited experience (w/2 companies), a VP - while well-meaning - might be blissfully unaware of clogs that an underling has created and things may magically work themselves out.