• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, June 7, 2022

The inventory and buying options available to marketers on ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) and free ad-supported streamers (FASTs) continue to expand at a rapid clip.

The latest examples are The Roku Channel’s introduction of a content hub for U.S. Hispanic audiences and Future Today’s introduction of a direct sales team for its connected TV and OTT ad inventory.

The Roku Channel’s new hub, Espacio Latino, aggregates thousands of free hours of Spanish-language programming from existing partners including Lionsgate, Cinedigm, A+E Networks, BBC Studios, Sony Pictures Television, Film Movement, Pantaya, Estrella TV, TelevisaUnivision, and beIN Sports, as well as new partners including include NBCUniversal Telemundo, Hemisphere Media Group, Cisneros Media, Eurochannel, The Weather Channel en Español, and Canela.TV.

In addition to the dubbed and subtitled-in-Spanish content, there are 50 live TV channels in Spanish, with more than 25 that are new to the Roku Channel. They span sports, news, entertainment, telenovelas, movies, and music, with content from Canela.TV, Estrella TV, TelevisaUnivision, and more.

Original and exclusive content in the hub will include a new Spanish-language Roku original called “Natural Born Narco,” to debut July 8.

Users of the free hub can also opt to add subscriptions for paid Spanish-language streaming subscriptions.

According to Roku, nearly 70% of Spanish language viewing households that watch The Roku Channel use the platform at least three days a week and don’t have pay TV.

Meanwhile, Future Today, one of the largest AVOD publishers, with reach across Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and the other major CTV and OTT platforms, has formed a dedicated sales team for buys on channels including Fawesome, HappyKids and iFood.tv.

The company says the move will open up about 14 billion AVOD impressions annually.

The sales team, dubbed FTI+, will work directly with advertisers across categories, selling buys that can run direct or programmatically, through programmatic guaranteed and/or private marketplaces. Advanced formats, including QR code, text-to-consumer and channel download, are being offered.