CTV Advertising Platforms Compared: Roku, Disney, Tubi

Part of the guide: Connected TV (CTV) Advertising

May 31, 2026·Nataliia· 8 min read All posts

The best CTV platform for a small local business is a self-serve one you can start without a sales call. Two publish a number: Roku Ads Manager requires a lifetime budget of $500 or more, and Disney Campaign Manager (Hulu and Disney+) lists a $500 minimum per campaign. Tubi has a self-serve platform but publishes no minimum. YouTube on TV runs through Google Ads.

This guide compares those routes using each platform's own pages, checked in October 2026. Where only a vendor or reseller gives a figure, it is labelled as second-hand.

$500→

Roku lifetime budget minimum

Roku help center

$500→

Disney minimum per campaign

Disney Campaign Manager FAQ

97M+↑

Tubi monthly active users

Fox, May 2025

$26→

Blended US CTV CPM

AdWave citing eMarketer (second-hand)

Estimates for illustration; actual numbers vary.

Which CTV platforms can a small business buy without a sales rep?

Four routes are open to a small advertiser today:

Route	Official minimum	Source
Roku Ads Manager	Lifetime budget must be $500 or more	Roku help center
Disney Campaign Manager (Hulu, Disney+)	$500 per campaign	Disney Campaign Manager FAQ
Tubi self-serve (Universal Ads)	Not published	Fox Corporation
YouTube on TV (Google Ads Demand Gen)	Set by your own daily budget	Google Ads Help

Premium and live-sports inventory, such as Amazon Prime Video and Thursday Night Football, is bought through an account executive or a demand-side platform (DSP). Amazon's DSP page lists Prime Video, Twitch and Thursday Night Football but states no minimum for programmatic buys.

What does each platform actually offer?

Roku Ads Manager launched in September 2024 as a self-service tool for buying CTV video ads, with shoppable ads through a Shopify partnership (Advanced Television). Roku says pricing is on a CPM model that changes with demand and inventory, and you can set a maximum bid. Roku's cost page says $500 to $1,000 is enough to get a first campaign live (Roku Advertising). That page does not mention ZIP or DMA targeting, so ask before you plan around it.

Disney Campaign Manager says you can reach Disney audiences by demographics, location, interests and show genres, and its FAQ lists ZIP code targeting. Sign-up is free, with no subscription or setup fees, and billing starts when your ad begins running.

Tubi announced a self-serve platform powered by Universal Ads on May 6, 2025. Fox's release says it is for businesses of all sizes and cites over 97 million monthly active users. It gives no minimum or targeting detail, so check inside the sign-up flow.

How does YouTube on TV fit in?

If you already run Google Ads, YouTube on TV is the lowest-friction test. Google's help page says all Video action campaigns were upgraded to Demand Gen as of May 2026, and ads can appear in the YouTube app on TV. Your video must be at least 10 seconds, and Google lists 15 seconds as recommended.

Google also claims that Demand Gen campaigns including TV screens drive an average of 7% additional conversions at the same ROI. The source note says only "Internal Experiment, Google data, Global, 2025" (Google blog). Treat it as a vendor claim, not a forecast for your business.

Demand Gen and Performance Max can also show a QR code on connected TV, but not every TV supports it, and it is not available on YouTube TV or Google TV inventory (Google Ads Help).

How do I choose between them?

Use these rules, which are recommendations rather than platform guidance:

You need a ZIP-level local test: start with Disney Campaign Manager, the only one above that documents ZIP targeting. Confirm the options in your account.
You already have Google Ads: test a Demand Gen campaign with TV screens enabled, and compare cost per booking against search.
You want free ad-supported viewers: ask Tubi for its minimum and geo options in writing before committing.
You want one account across many apps: ask an aggregator or DSP for a written minimum, CPM and itemized data fees.

Whatever you choose, give CTV its own promo code or vanity URL. Otherwise impressions are all you will have to judge it by. For the basics, read our connected TV starter guide.

What does a $500 CTV test buy?

CPMs are what you pay per 1,000 impressions. AdWave, a CTV reseller, reports a blended US CTV CPM of about $26 for 2026, citing eMarketer. It also lists a $15 to $45 market range (AdWave, second-hand). These are benchmarks, not rate cards.

Worked example. Every input except the budget and CPMs is an assumption: new-customer gross profit of $120 over the first year, and no wasted impressions.

CPM	Impressions for $500	Customers to break even	Impressions per break-even customer
$15	33,333	5	about 6,700
$26	19,231	5	about 3,850
$45	11,111	5	about 2,200

Break-even is $500 divided by $120, rounded up to 5 customers. If your new customer is worth $60, you need 9. A first-visit loss is fine only when repeat visits make up the difference. Compare this against what the same $500 does in search before you decide. More cost context is in our CTV CPM guide.

What should I ask every platform before I spend?

Put the same questions to each platform or DSP and keep the written answers:

What is the minimum budget, and is it per campaign or per day?
Can I target by ZIP code, and what happens to the CPM when I do?
Which apps will my ad actually run on?
What reporting do I get beyond impressions?
Are there data, creative or platform fees on top of media cost?

For live sports options, see our Amazon Prime Video Thursday Night Football guide and Peacock live sports guide. Do not start there on a small budget.

FAQ

What is the best CTV advertising platform for a small business? There is no single best one. Roku Ads Manager and Disney Campaign Manager both publish a $500 minimum, Tubi publishes none, and YouTube on TV uses your Google Ads budget. Pick on targeting, minimums and reporting for your market.

Can I run CTV ads on a small monthly budget? Yes, from about $500 on Roku or Disney. That buys roughly 11,000 to 33,000 impressions at the $15 to $45 CPM range, enough to test an offer but not to saturate a metro area.

How do I measure whether a CTV ad worked? Use a promo code, a vanity URL or a tracked phone number, then compare bookings during the flight with the prior 30 days. Impressions alone do not show customers.

Is CTV better than YouTube or search for a small budget? For people ready to buy now, search usually captures the demand. CTV builds familiarity, and Google's own TV-screen claim is a vendor figure. Our CTV versus traditional TV comparison covers the trade-offs.

Sources

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Nataliia

Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.

About Nataliia