Samsung Ads opens Smart TV home screen to programmatic buyers

The move signals a shift from direct-sales exclusivity to automated accessibility for the most visible real estate in the CTV ecosystem. By integrating with major DSPs, Samsung reduces the friction of cross-channel planning, enabling buyers to manage home screen ads alongside standard streaming video. This puts Samsung in direct programmatic competition with Roku and LG, who have similarly accelerated their home screen monetization. For the broader industry, it reinforces the trend of TV operating systems evolving into sophisticated ad networks that capture value before the viewer even enters a third-party streaming app. Watch for how this affects CPMs for premium 'first-on-screen' inventory as automated bidding increases.

Samsung’s programmatic shift occurs as competition for the TV home screen intensifies among major OEMs. Per Omdia, June 2026 data shows Samsung maintained a 31.3% revenue share of the global TV market, its 21st year in the top spot. However, horizontal rivals are narrowing the technology gap. Roku, which reported 125 million daily home screen starts in mid-2026, recently redesigned its OS to feature a large, permanent ad unit on the right side of the screen, according to CNET in May 2026. This redesign followed Roku’s June 2024 launch of Roku Exchange, which also connects to The Trade Desk and Google DV360.

Simultaneously, LG Ad Solutions reported a 60% year-over-year increase in general-market advertisers using its home screen in late 2025. LG’s research indicated that 97% of its Smart TV users start their journey on the home screen, visiting an average of three times daily. To differentiate, LG introduced 3D native home screen ads in May 2025, according to StreamTV Insider, aimed at increasing visual engagement before content selection. These moves by LG and Roku have forced Samsung to prioritize programmatic access to maintain its lead in the U.S. market, where it holds a 32% share of all Smart TVs, per Samsung’s own 2025 State of Video report.

The competitive landscape is further complicated by retail integration. Walmart’s $2.3 billion acquisition of Vizio, which closed in late 2024, has turned Vizio’s SmartCast OS into a proprietary vehicle for Walmart Connect. Per PCMag, December 2024, Walmart intends to use Vizio’s 19 million active accounts to link retail purchase data with CTV viewing habits. As Samsung Ads opens its inventory to DSPs, it is positioning itself to compete not just on hardware scale, but on the ease of integrating high-impact home screen units into these increasingly complex, data-driven omnichannel strategies.