Video ads by channel / Roku
Ads for Roku.
A film that points at the remote, an overlay line written with the script, and enough rotations for Roku's repeat limits.
The medium
Roku is a television operating system before it is a channel. Its home screen reaches US households with more than 125 million people a day by Roku's own data, and its ads run full screen and unskippable inside The Roku Channel and the apps on the platform, with a 95 percent average completion rate that Roku reports. Roku Ads Manager sells them self-serve, with a lifetime budget of at least 500 US dollars per campaign.
The rules are Roku's own. Ads Manager wants English audio, accepting Spanish only as subtitles, and Roku refuses ads for anything that competes with it: streaming sticks, set-top boxes, consoles, smart TVs and speakers. Its guidelines ask for spots of fifteen or thirty seconds at no less than 30 frames, forbid the same ad twice in one break, and cap one ad at two plays an hour and five a day per viewer.
Action Ads add a layer the viewer answers with the remote: a 40-character line, a logo, and a text message Roku sends to the viewer's phone.
The specs
Quoted from the platforms' own pages. The source and the date each was read are under the table.
| Placement | Ratio | Resolution and file | Length | Sound and captions | Safe zone and rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action Ad layer (Ads Manager) | Overlay on the 16:9 video | Overlay message up to 40 characters; logo PNG up to 150 KB; text message up to 236 characters including the advertiser name; http or https URL | As the video it rides on | The video's own audio; the text is a one-time message Roku sends for the advertiser | Call to action from 13 options, background from 16 colors; interactive only on The Roku Channel, elsewhere the ad runs as plain video; 2 to 3 business days of review |
| Any Roku-served video (advertising guidelines) | Large-screen TV | SD and HD; below 720 x 480 or below 30 fps not permitted | 15 or 30 seconds; 60 by exception | In a language the viewer understands | No streaming boxes, sticks, consoles, smart TVs or speakers; no pixels or third-party tags without written approval; final files 5 business days before start |
| Ads Manager upload (beyond the connected TV row) | 16:9 | MOV or MP4 only, no YouTube links; stereo 48 kHz, 16 or 24 bit, at least 96 kbps; audio length must match the video | 6 to 92 seconds | English audio required; English with Spanish subtitles accepted | Landing page must match the product shown; lifetime budget at least 500 US dollars per campaign |
| Home screen Marquee (native) | A tile across a third of the home screen | Dimensions not published | n/a | n/a | 4 to 5 weeks of lead time; sold standalone or packaged through direct sales, programmatic and Ads Manager |
| Display on Roku's own surfaces | Image | No more than 20 percent text | n/a | n/a | Must deep-link into the title or series promoted; generic app promotion only on a limited basis |
| Ad breaks in apps on Roku (advertising guidelines) | n/a | n/a | Mid-roll only after 7 minutes of content; ad-supported pods no longer than 2 minutes | n/a | The same ad never twice in one pod; at most twice an hour and five times a day per viewer; ad counter visible |
- Roku, advertising guidelines, read October 27, 2026
- Roku Ads Manager Help, creative guidelines, read October 27, 2026
- Roku Ads Manager Help, common reasons a creative is rejected, read October 27, 2026
- Roku Ads Manager Help, campaign budget and schedule, read October 27, 2026
- Roku Ads Manager Help, ad policies, read October 27, 2026
- Roku Advertising, Marquee ad, read October 27, 2026
- Roku Advertising, ad types, read October 27, 2026
Roku's own pages disagree twice: Ads Manager accepts 23.98, 25 and 29.97 frames while the guidelines refuse anything under 30, and one help article asks for 6 Mbps and 1 GB while another lists 15 Mbps and 200 MB; a 29.97 master above 15 Mbps and under 200 MB satisfies all of them. The guidelines were read through Roku's own document service. The generic Roku technical row is on the connected TV page and is not repeated.
How we build an ad for it
Directed by people, made with AI, finished by hand. You approve the script and the sound before any footage is made.
The overlay is in the script
An Action Ad carries a 40-character line, a logo PNG under 150 KB and a 236-character text message that includes the advertiser's name. We write them with the script, and the last third of the film points at the remote, press OK, rather than at a web address on screen.
A film that also works plain
The interactive layer appears only on The Roku Channel; in other apps the same file runs as ordinary video. So the film never depends on the overlay to make sense: the offer is spoken and shown, and the overlay only makes answering it easier.
Mastered at 29.97
Ads Manager lists 23.98, 25 and 29.97; the guidelines refuse anything under 30. A 29.97 master is the one rate that satisfies both, so a 23.98 film is re-rendered for Roku rather than uploaded as it is, at a bit rate above 15 Mbps in a file under 200 MB.
English first, Spanish in subtitles
Ads Manager approves only English audio and accepts Spanish as subtitles. For households in both languages we deliver an English mix with burned-in Spanish subtitles, and a Spanish-language voice only where the buy goes through Roku's managed team.
Rotations for Roku's repeat limits
One ad may not play twice in a break and is capped at two plays an hour and five a day per viewer. A heavy-viewing household reaches that ceiling quickly, so the fifteen and the thirty come in two or three rotations made from the same shoot.
Nothing Roku competes with
Roku rejects ads that promote streaming sticks, set-top boxes, consoles, smart TVs or speakers, so none is featured in a hero shot. Home screen art is a separate design job with four to five weeks of lead time, under 20 percent text and deep-linked to what it promotes.
Films that fit
Finished Filmito films, labeled with what each one is. Hover or tap to play.
What to order
Roku's repeat caps reward rotations: a fifteen and a thirty in two or three versions each, plus the overlay copy and home screen art, is the volume Scale ships.
30 seconds to tell the story and earn the click. First cut in 3 days, 2 revision rounds, 16:9 and 9:16 included.
Launch on the pricing page8 unique ads every month. For brands shipping weekly across markets.
Scale on the pricing pageQuestions about Roku ads
What is the minimum budget for Roku Ads Manager?
Every campaign needs a lifetime budget of 500 US dollars or more, set in your own Ads Manager account, and campaigns must start on a future date. Filmito's price covers the films and the overlay assets, delivered to Roku's upload rules.
Can a smart TV, soundbar or streaming stick be advertised on Roku?
No. Roku's advertising guidelines bar products that compete with Roku, naming streaming set-top boxes, gaming consoles, sticks, smart TVs and audio speakers. A brand that sells them needs another streaming platform for its television ads.
Can a Roku ad be in Spanish?
In Ads Manager every ad must have English audio; English ads with Spanish subtitles are accepted. A Spanish-language voice needs a managed buy through Roku's team, so by default we deliver the English mix with Spanish subtitles.
What does a Roku Action Ad need?
A 16:9 video, an overlay message of up to 40 characters, a PNG logo up to 150 KB, a text message of up to 236 characters and a web address. Manual review takes two to three business days, and changing the text or the logo sends it back to review.
Can we buy the Roku home screen?
The Marquee ad takes a third of the home screen, is sold standalone or in packages through Roku's sales team, programmatic deals and Ads Manager, and needs four to five weeks of lead time. Its dimensions come from Roku's team, and we design to them.
Will Roku show our ad twice in the same break?
Not under Roku's guidelines: apps may not run the same ad twice in one pod, and one ad is capped at two plays an hour and five a day per viewer. We deliver rotations so the plan does not run out of ads in a heavy-viewing home.
Keep planning
Other screens, the craft behind the films, and the public prices.
Other channels
- Video ads for Connected TVFull frame, sound on, nothing clickable: a spot for the biggest screen in the house.
- Video ads for FAST channelsFifteens and thirties in rotations, because a free channel will show the same break more than once tonight.
- Every channelThe index and the glossary of format terms.
Craft and proof
Plan your ad
Filmito
Tell us the screen. We build the film.
Six short questions about your brand and where the ad will run. A person replies within one business day with the idea, the price and the date.
Since 2017 · 9,700+ films · 4.8 from 970+ reviews, every one readable