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State of the Screens

Roku Streaming Hours Surged 80% in April, Hits Nearly 40 Million Accounts in Q1

By May 14, 2020No Comments

Key numbers from Roku’s earnings:
1) 2.9M active accounts added in Q1
2) 39.8M total active accounts
3) 73% YoY increase in advertising revenue
4) 48% YoY increase in streaming hours

Quote from Steve Louden – CFO @ Roku:
“We anticipate that our ad business will continue to grow substantially on a year-over-year basis, albeit at a slower pace and lower gross profit than we originally expected for the year.  We believe the behavioral changes by TV ad buyers are likely positive for us in the longer term — and that with more time spent at home, and many households curtailing spending in light of economic hardships, cord-cutting and the shift to streaming will continue to accelerate.”

Roku active accounts (YoY growth):
1) 2017-Q1 – 14.2M
2) 2018-Q1 – 20.8M (↑ 46%)
3) 2019-Q1 – 29.1M (↑ 40%)
4) 2020-Q1 – 39.8M (↑ 37%)

Roku advertising revenue (YoY growth):
1) 2017-Q1 – $36M
2) 2018-Q1 – $75M (↑ 106%)
3) 2019-Q1 – $134M (↑ 79%)
4) 2020-Q1 – $233M (↑ 73%)

Roku advertising revenue per account (YoY growth):
1) 2017-Q1 – $2.56
2) 2018-Q1 – $3.61 (↑ 41%)
3) 2019-Q1 – $4.61 (↑ 28%)
4) 2020-Q1 – $5.84 (↑ 27%)

Roku total streaming hours (YoY growth):
1) 2017-Q1 – 3.3B
2) 2018-Q1 – 5.5B (↑ 67%)
3) 2019-Q1 – 8.9B (↑ 62%)
4) 2020-Q1 – 13.2B (↑ 48%)

Roku streaming hours per account (YoY growth):
1) 2017-Q1 – 232
2) 2018-Q1 – 264 (↑ 14%)
3) 2019-Q1 – 306 (↑ 16%)
4) 2020-Q1 – 332 (↑ 8%)

Roku advertising revenue per streaming hour (YoY growth):
1) 2017-Q1 – $0.011
2) 2018-Q1 – $0.014 (↑ 24%)
3) 2019-Q1 – $0.015 (↑ 10%)
4) 2020-Q1 – $0.018 (↑ 17%)

Video: Roku Unveils TV Ad Buying Solution

More #1: Behind Roku’s Ad-Supported Streaming Strategy

More #2: Roku Relaunches Dataxu As OneView, Marrying Its User Data To The DSP

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.