Roku launches free watermarking tech

Streaming device and platform leader Roku has announced a new watermarking solution.

The Roku Advertising Watermark tech is free for advertisers and publishers, and it will allow them to validate the authenticity of video ads originating on the Roku platform. Roku said that the product is “the industry’s first authentication solution built for TV streaming”.

With ad spoofing an increasingly real problem facing the industry, the  solution integrates with the Roku operating system to automatically verify publisher ad requests and impressions so that advertisers know they are reaching genuine Roku users.

At launch, technology providers integrating Roku’s Advertising Watermark include Basis Technologies, Google, HUMAN, Innovid, and Magnite.

Louqman Parampath, VP of product management, Roku, said: “As America’s No. 1 TV Streaming Platform, we are uniquely positioned to help the industry preempt device spoofing. This is powerful and free technology that will help advertisers accelerate their shift to TV streaming with even more confidence.”

Commenting on the tech, Bill Murray, VP of programmatic solutions at Discovery said: “Roku’s Advertising Watermark assures our advertiser clients that they are buying genuine Discovery inventory on Roku devices. We’re excited that Roku has brought its data, operating system, and ad technology together to easily prevent ad spoofing.”