Roku Developer Program

[DeanLach]

"EnTerr" wrote:
RAF is in release form. I'm not currently aware of ads being sold as skippable outside of the YouTube channel on Roku.

...So after all, i can let users opt-out of a video ad! As long as i don't mind getting unpaid for the unfinished ad. That is a bargain i personally will take. Wasting 30 seconds of unwilling viewer's life - or forego a fraction of a penny? Sign me in for the latter!

If I were you I'd check the RAF TOS before inputting that "Skippable" code.

Here's some food 4 thought: I personally can't see why a developer would take the time to code a Channel with RAF only to put in a method to defeat RAF. And I say "defeat" because I'm thinking that if RAF is helping to fill 100% then you as a Developer are promised fresh and appropriate ads for your audience, and skipping an ad destroys the purpose of using ADpods. Doesn't it? Forgive me if I'm wrong...

[renojim]

"DeanLach" wrote:
I'm thinking that if RAF is helping to fill 100% then you as a Developer are promised fresh and appropriate ads for your audience...

I don't think that's true at all and it certainly doesn't appear that way in practice. There's a reason you'll see the same ad over and over again: the Developer has no control.

-JT

[hnet]

What is the best way to add vast into Scene Graph? I want to embed ads into my new channel and prep it for public release. I have taken all the tools provided and have came up with Biztale enhanced compared to it's humble beginnings on OpenRokn. my.roku.com/add/Biztale

[DeanLach]

"hnet" wrote:
What is the best way to add vast into Scene Graph? I want to embed ads into my new channel and prep it for public release. I have taken all the tools provided and have came up with Biztale enhanced compared to it's humble beginnings on OpenRokn. my.roku.com/add/Biztale

I'm sorry I don't have a resolution for you, but I can tell ya: I've used OpenRokn and I wouldn't use it for Roku right now. For one, Roku uses the RAF system, and so I'm not sure how that would work in a OpenRokn template that was originally designed for AdRise years ago. And of course there's the issue with OpenRokn built channels being slow when there's over 20 video streams in a RSS feed (errr I should say that the documentation mentioned this but I haven't tested maxing-out feeds.)

But hey, keep in touch and if you like send me a direct email and maybe we can help each other, because I make allot of channels on several platforms and it's always a challenge to find someone who knows what the heck they're talking about...

[hnet]

Hey Dean,

Actually I re-wrote my channel it's own the new platform which is "Scene Graph" I'm only running into the problem is how to add the ads into the channel with RAF or VAST. Is it a simple copy and past the code into the manifest or is there more to it. I don't think this was covered in the forum as of yet, unless I need to reach out to the Roku Ad department for best results.

https://blog.roku.com/developer/2016/02 ... framework/

But you are right, I ran into way to many issues when I did run the other .sdk that's why I abandoned it long ago.

John

[DeanLach]

"hnet" wrote:
Hey Dean,

Actually I re-wrote my channel it's own the new platform which is "Scene Graph" I'm only running into the problem is how to add the ads into the channel with RAF or VAST. Is it a simple copy and past the code into the manifest or is there more to it. I don't think this was covered in the forum as of yet, unless I need to reach out to the Roku Ad department for best results.

But you are right, I ran into way to many issues when I did run the other .sdk that's why I abandoned it long ago.

John

Ohhh, I wish it was as easy as cut n' paste. I had a deal with an Ad Insertion service, one that I won't name but let's just say they broadcast all over Europe and they even have their own Set Top Box...and these guys gave up on trying to make RAF work with their Ad Server.
Maybe it was all their lazy-fault - I don't know, because I'm a cut n' paste developer myself...

(If you come up with a solution I'd sure love to hear about it...Super important to me, is finding an Ad Server (service) that actually is comfortable with re-designing SDK's to use RAF and providing them to their publishers.)

[bhrami]

Hi there,

I have sent an email out to advertise@roku.com to add Ads support in my channel. But haven't heard anything from them so far. Can you please tell me if I should be contacting anyone else in this regard.

Thanks,
Bhrami

[DeanLach]

"bhrami" wrote:
Hi there,

I have sent an email out to advertise@roku.com to add Ads support in my channel. But haven't heard anything from them so far. Can you please tell me if I should be contacting anyone else in this regard.

Thanks,
Bhrami

That email sounds correct. I do (think) that a history of doing channels that are popular or are monetized may be a criteria. And of course getting good numbers (subs, ratings) hopefully will lead to getting an offer.

But I have to tell ya, I (assume) getting an AD Server is a criteria too...If you've found a company that knows the difference between an Ad Server and an Ad Pod, then please do share! 🙂

[DeanLach]

"hnet" wrote:
Hey Dean,

... I'm only running into the problem is how to add the ads into the channel with RAF or VAST. Is it a simple copy and past the code into the manifest or is there more to it. I don't think this was covered in the forum as of yet, unless I need to reach out to the Roku Ad department for best results...

John

I haven't come across a post that addresses how to use Raf in (any) SDK other than the RAF SDK. Maybe something will pop up on Git Hub. Actually, I'd settle for a SDK/demo channel with most any Simulated-Live, Grid, or Horizontal design that would (easily) let me place MRSS feeds between RAF Ad Pods.

The current SDK has a TED mp4 stream, but I have trouble getting multiple Mrss feeds into this SDK build. I sure could use some advice in this area. (Obviously, I'm not a professional software-engineer.)

[EnTerr]

"DeanLach" wrote:

"EnTerr" wrote:
So after all, i can let users opt-out of a video ad! As long as i don't mind getting unpaid for the unfinished ad. That is a bargain i personally will take. Wasting 30 seconds of unwilling viewer's life - or forego a fraction of a penny? Sign me in for the latter!

If I were you I'd check the RAF TOS before inputting that "Skippable" code.

Here's some food 4 thought: I personally can't see why a developer would take the time to code a Channel with RAF only to put in a method to defeat RAF. And I say "defeat" because I'm thinking that if RAF is helping to fill 100% then you as a Developer are promised fresh and appropriate ads for your audience, and skipping an ad destroys the purpose of using ADpods. Doesn't it? Forgive me if I'm wrong...

Respectfully - you don't seem to understand how advertising works at large - nor video ads in particular.

1. The ad-exit capability is there in RAF for a reason. I did not invent it - i advocate developers to use it to improve user satisfaction %.
   


2. The ad buyer does not pay for unfinished ads. If it does not hit final marker, there is no credit (that is, till hopefully something akin to YouTube's TrueView gets available). It's up to the ad seller whether to absorb (or not - in your case) cancelations.
   


3. You might want to take a raincheck on the imaginary "fill 100%... [with] fresh and appropriate ads". Fill rate of 100% is a fantasy. Q&D check today, Roku fills ~80% of the slots. And the ads one sees are repetitive, as RenoJim pointed out. It's not app publisher's fault but we bear the brunt of viewer's dissatisfaction if they are forced to watch the same ad ad nauseam.
   


4. Lastly, to address the fear of ad skipping ability hurting one's bottom line: another reality check - less than 10% are exiting my pre-rolls. That's less than 1/2 the un-filled slots from above. I am happy with such low number and rather shop for better CPM or fill ratios than force every ad onto every viewer.