GLU Network Opens Direct-Buy Advertising - Giving Media Buyers a Premium, Brand-Safe CTV Audience

 GLU Network, the free, ad-supported streaming platform built around faith and family content, today opened its advertising inventory to direct buys from media agencies and brands — giving media buyers first-party access to a fast-growing, highly engaged CTV audience that has largely sat outside programmatic reach. The move pairs a new direct-buy advertising model with an expansion of cross-platform content discovery, positioning GLU as one of the more efficient additions to the connected-TV mix for agencies chasing reach without paying premium-tier prices for it.

Launched in August 2023, GLU has grown to more than 150 channels and 27,000+ titles in under three years, reaching viewers on 12 major operating systems — including Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Google TV, iOS, Android, tablets, and Xbox, plus the open web — with no subscription, account, or payment required. That scale, combined with a curated, brand-safe content environment, gives buyers a rare combination in today's CTV market: broad cross-device distribution and a tightly defined, values-aligned audience in one buy.

The advertising model GLU is bringing to market breaks from standard programmatic norms in one key respect: brands buy directly from GLU and pay for actual completed views — not clicks. For media buyers, that means a more accountable, more transparent read on delivery than open-exchange CTV typically offers, without sacrificing the non-skippable, high completion rates the category is known for.

“GLU Network is different because advertisers pay for actual views — not just clicks — and can buy directly from us. That direct relationship gives brands a clearer, more accountable way to reach engaged audiences across our growing ecosystem.”

— Julie Stagner, Founder and CEO, GLU Network

For agencies, the opportunity is one of timing as much as targeting. GLU's audience is compounding: new creator partners are bringing established audiences onto the platform, cross-platform discovery is now driving incremental viewers who find GLU content directly through the apps and devices they already use, and the network's brand-safe positioning is drawing family, faith, and values-driven advertisers who have struggled to find reliable, scaled inventory elsewhere. That combination — rising supply, a defined and hard-to-reach demo, and a still-early pricing environment — is the window media buyers typically want to catch before it closes.

GLU's direct advertising desk is open now to agency and brand-side media buyers evaluating Q4 and 2027 connected-TV plans. Inventory is available across GLU's full content library, from flagship channels and live events to its rapidly expanding creator network — with placement, targeting, and package details available on request.