The Winners and Losers From the Amazon-Roku Deal

When Amazon and Roku announced a partnership to enable buying Roku inventory through the Amazon demand-side platform last month, the news sent ripples across the connected-TV ecosystem. Ad buyers say the move simplifies addressability and expands reach, but not everyone comes out ahead. Here are the winners and losers of the surprise tie-up, according to interviews with five industry experts. Winner: Amazon The clearest beneficiary of the partnership is Amazon. By gaining direct access to Roku’s massive footprint, the company just extended its commerce-driven DSP straight into America’s living rooms, an advantage few platforms can match. “Amazon now has a demonstrable reason for non-endemics to use its DSP,” said Gigi founder Adam Epstein. “They’ve leveraged an unfair advantage into unrivaled reach.” This also positions Amazon more firmly in the brand-building space—beyond pure performance—by giving it new CTV inventory that is measurable and addressable. Loser: The Trade Desk Multiple sources say The Trade Desk took a hit. Roku partnered with the independent DSP in 2024 to use its cookieless identifier, UID2, across Roku's inventory. Roku and Amazon's partnership is a deeper integration, so TTD faces a tougher identity game. “UID2 was meant to be the spine across CTV,” Epstein said, “but it now pales in comparison to what Amazon and Roku can offer together.” That sentiment was echoed in a June investment note by Dan Salmon, partner at New Street Research. What’s more, TTD’s move to launch its own TV operating system may have prompted Roku to diversify its partnerships, ultimately pushing it toward Amazon. The Trade Desk did not respond to a request for comment. Winner: Roku Roku gains more than just demand. The partnership signals its shift away from a proprietary DSP and toward open, scaled collaborations with larger players. “This validates Roku’s choice to be an interoperable partner,” said Mike Treon, head of CTV and video strategy at PMG. “It’s a huge win for a company that had to choose between being a tech stack or a media publisher.” “Roku wins because they get distribution and the power of Amazon from a demand standpoint,” added Vicky Chang, senior director of client strategy at Tatari. “They’ll be able to bring more data to the table, and that unlocks a lot of reach.” The deal also lets Roku keep monetizing its first-party data at scale, without having to shoulder the burden of building and maintaining an end-to-end ad-tech stack. Loser: Third-Party Identity Vendors The Amazon-Roku partnership creates a massive addressable pool, dealing a blow to companies that had dedicated resources to building third-party identity solutions. “This hurts not just UID2, but other identity solutions like Yahoo’s ConnectID and Viant’s household graph,” Treon said. “Everyone built these on the promise of replacing cookies, and now it’s clear partnerships like this one are the future.” Yahoo did not respond to a request for comment. According to Jon Schulz, chief marketing officer at Viant, Amazon’s partnership with Roku helps bring the companies into closer parity with Viant. "Viant is already there," Schulz said. "With Household ID reaching over 80% of the bid stream and the power of IRIS.TV delivering contextual precision at scale, we offer advertisers a future-proof CTV solution for the open internet." Winner: Growth-Stage Brands With more addressable inventory and better measurement, the deal opens the door for more DTC brands to scale into CTV. “It’s a win for growth brands far enough on the maturity curve to lean in,” said Ryan Mason, COO of Markacy. “Amazon just plugged directly into the living room.” These brands—particularly those already advertising on Amazon—now have an easier way to reach high-value audiences on a bigger screen. Loser: Smaller DSPs and SSPs As Amazon and Roku consolidate market share, smaller adtech intermediaries face increasing pressure. “The value prop of many DSPs and SSPs is eroding,” Mason said. “The aggregators are winning. Others may get squeezed.” This deal is just the latest signal that scale and direct access to data are becoming non-negotiable advantages in CTV. Loser: Linear Broadcasters and Smart-TV OEMs The partnership may also accelerate the decline of traditional broadcast and put pressure on competing smart-TV platforms. “Competing OEMs were on similar footing to Roku, but this puts pressure on them to consider a merger or partnership to stay competitive,” Chang said. “They have inventory to sell, but now Roku can offer so much more data and distribution through Amazon’s DSP.” Linear broadcasters, meanwhile, could find some inventory harder to move if buyers gravitate to Roku’s newly turbocharged data stack. Winner: Google (Indirectly) Though not directly involved, Google could benefit from an uptick in shopping behavior sparked by Amazon DSP campaigns. “Google talks about the four S’s—streaming, shopping, scrolling, and searching,” said Seth Hargrave, chief executive of Media Two. “If streaming ads become more accurate, people will inevitably search and shop more on other surfaces—and that’s good news for Google.” As CTV increasingly sparks commerce behavior, the ripple effects could benefit others in the commerce funnel.

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The Winners and Losers From the Amazon-Roku Deal

The surprise partnership is reshaping the CTV landscape. Ad buyers weigh in on who stands to gain the most and who’s left scrambling.

Winner: Amazon

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Mark Stenberg

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