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The news: Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods鈥� retail media arm, Dick鈥檚 Media, is partnering with Roku to bring its shopper data to connected TV, per Adweek. Our take: Dick鈥檚 sees retail media as a long-term growth engine, and its partnership with Roku should enhance its ability to compete with larger players by combining rich loyalty data with precise streaming insights. While Dick鈥檚 Media already offered brands a robust mix of in-store and digital ad opportunities, the expanded Roku partnership enables more targeted, measurable, and high-impact campaigns鈥攅specially as connected TV becomes a core pillar in the modern advertising mix.

The news: Amazon will bring inventory from Roku to its demand-side platform (DSP), the two announced at Cannes Lions, starting in Q4 2025. Our take: Amazon鈥檚 Roku partnership is a well-timed announcement to convince advertisers to stick with their CTV ecosystems even amid tightening budgets.

Roku delivered strong Q1 results and acquired Frndly TV: The deal boosts live content and supports subscription growth without overspending.

The news: Google reduced its sub-$500 million smart TV budget by 10%, laid off a quarter of its 300-person TV staff, and scaled back investments in connected TV (CTV) initiatives like Google TV and Android TV, per The Information. The latest changes prioritize YouTube and cloud, which now drive Alphabet鈥檚 $110 billion annual run rate. Our take: Advertisers should reallocate budgets toward YouTube鈥檚 growing ad ecosystem while exploring emerging CTV platforms like Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Google鈥檚 retreat creates openings for competitors to capture market share in CTV advertising.

The insight: Walmart sees a (near) future where customers will shop directly from their smart TVs鈥攑referably one powered by Vizio, which the retailer purchased for $2.3 billion last year. Our take: Shoppers are gradually becoming more comfortable with the concept of shoppable TV. Whether those occasional behaviors become habit will depend on platforms鈥� ability to offer ads that are personalized and relevant. That puts Walmart at an advantage, given its troves of first-party data鈥攁lthough it faces tough competition from the likes of Amazon and Roku.

FAST shows no signs of slowing down: From the Roku Channel to Tubi, FAST continues a path of acceleration that will be bolstered by economic uncertainty.

Don鈥檛 count Roku out: The CTV provider hit 90 million US households, cementing its leadership even as the sector undergoes major consolidation.

Comcast鈥檚 streaming ad platform aims for SMBs: Universal Ads will launch with partners like Roku and WBD as competition for SMBs increases.

Roku wants to open the CTV door for small and midsize brands: A partnership will allow brands to repurpose ads designed for social media to run on its platform.

Roku鈥檚 original content gives it an edge in CTV: A deal with Google highlights how content offerings allow Roku to reach viewers outside its hardware net.

Roku Q3 results emphasize ad-supported growth: Increased streaming hours and accounts offer advertisers valuable inventory.

Amazon鈥檚 most similar CTV competitor is arguably Roku. Amazon and Roku own the most popular CTV operating systems (OSs) in the US, and each controls a streaming service with wide user penetration. The Roku Channel accounted for 4% of time spent viewing streaming ads in 2024, compared with 3% for Prime Video, according to TVision.