Connected TV is where audiences have moved. Streaming now accounts for the majority of TV viewing time in the US, and ad-supported free channels on Roku, Fire TV, Samsung TV, and Apple TV carry a significant portion of that. For independent publishers, sports networks, news organizations, and content creators, these platforms represent an enormous addressable audience — one you can reach without a cable deal, a broadcast license, or an engineering team.
Here's how each of the four major CTV platforms works, what it actually takes to get on them, and why the technical barrier that used to stop most publishers no longer applies.
The Common Thread: MRSS Feeds
Before covering each platform individually, it's worth understanding what all four have in common. Every major CTV platform accepts content from publishers through an MRSS feed — Media RSS. This is a structured XML file that describes your video library: titles, descriptions, video files, thumbnails, durations, categories, and publication dates.
The platform ingests your MRSS feed, builds a channel from it, and keeps it updated as you add new content. The feed is the key. Historically, generating a spec-compliant MRSS feed required a developer who understood XML formatting, each platform's specific requirements, and how to maintain the feed as content changed. VideoNest generates this automatically. Your library becomes a feed; the feed becomes a channel.
Roku
Roku is the largest streaming platform in the US by active accounts — over 80 million households. It operates the Roku Channel Store, where independent publishers can submit channels through the Direct Publisher program. The process: create a Roku developer account, generate a spec-compliant MRSS feed, submit through the Direct Publisher dashboard, and go through Roku's review process (typically a few weeks).
Once your channel is live, it's discoverable through Roku's search and category browsing. Roku monetizes through its ad platform (Roku Advertising Framework) and shares revenue with content partners. No subscription or upfront cost to the publisher — Roku earns when viewers watch ads on your channel.
Amazon Fire TV
Amazon Fire TV has over 50 million active users across Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Cube, and Fire TV-integrated smart TVs. Publishers can distribute through the Amazon Appstore using the Fire TV Direct Publisher tool, which similarly ingests an MRSS feed and builds a channel automatically.
Amazon's reach extends into Prime Video ambient placement and Fire TV's free content zones — meaning your channel can surface to users who are browsing for something to watch, not just searching specifically for your brand. Like Roku, the monetization model is ad-supported revenue sharing through Amazon's ad infrastructure.
Samsung TV Plus
Samsung TV Plus is pre-installed on every Samsung smart TV — a global install base of hundreds of millions of devices. Unlike Roku and Fire TV, which require users to download channels, Samsung TV Plus is available immediately when someone turns on their TV. The barrier to viewership discovery is lower because your channel can appear in Samsung's curated lineup without the user actively looking for it.
Samsung TV Plus operates as a FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channel, and like other FAST platforms, accepts content through MRSS feed submission. It's particularly strong internationally, with a presence across Europe, Asia, and Latin America that Roku and Fire TV don't match.
Apple TV
Apple TV reaches users across the Apple TV 4K device, the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and smart TVs from Sony, LG, and Samsung. Apple's content partner program allows publishers to submit channels through an MRSS-based process, with Apple reviewing submissions for quality and content standards.
Apple TV skews toward premium content and has higher quality expectations than the other platforms — but that's also what makes it valuable. The audience is predominantly affluent, tech-engaged, and accustomed to paying for quality. Ad-supported content performs well here, particularly in sports, documentary, and news categories.
What to Expect from CTV Ad Revenue
CTV ad inventory commands significantly higher CPMs than typical web video. While YouTube RPMs often range from $1 to $5, CTV CPMs regularly fall between $15 and $40 — because TV advertising is inherently a more premium context. Viewers are watching on a TV screen, in lean-back mode, with household buying power that advertisers pay up to reach.
Publisher revenue share varies by platform and content category, but the economics are materially better than standard online video. A channel with 500,000 monthly views on a CTV platform can generate meaningful revenue that would require several million YouTube views to match.
The hard part used to be building and maintaining a spec-compliant MRSS feed for each platform. VideoNest handles this automatically — your library becomes a feed, the feed becomes a channel, and new uploads propagate everywhere without manual steps.
Getting Started
The practical path to CTV distribution with VideoNest involves three steps: upload your video library, connect video distribution to your target platforms, and let VideoNest manage feed generation and updates automatically. The submission processes for each platform still require creating developer accounts and going through review — but the feed itself, which is the technical requirement that historically blocked independent publishers, is handled.
If your content is consistent, properly catalogued with clean metadata and thumbnails, and at least 10–15 videos in length, you have everything you need to be on all four major CTV platforms. The audience is there. The platforms want independent content. The barrier isn't what it used to be. Learn more about monetization on CTV and what your content could earn.