Roku is the leading player in connected TV.

Today, Roku is the leading player in connected TV. This week, the company announced that it added 1.6 million active accounts in the first quarter of the year, reaching a total of 71.6 million active accounts.

Streaming hours increased by 4.2 billion year-over-year, reaching a total of 25.1 billion. Overall, Roku’s data shows that 50% of all AVOD impressions occur on its platform.

Although the company’s advertising sales business has ultimately struck deals with every major media-owned company and holds a dominant presence in the upfronts, serving most Fortune 500 brands, that growth didn’t come easily. It rarely does.

Founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood, Roku set out to revolutionize streaming before the concept even existed. But to get there, it needed the support of advertising dollars.

Alison Levin was Roku’s first hire in the advertising sales division. She joined the company after gaining experience selling connected TV inventory for brands like Samsung and LG at Tremor (now Unruly). Roku approached Levin for a business development role designed to expand inventory and channels, but at the time there was no dedicated sales team. After initially declining the offer, Levin joined the company just before Roku announced its first partnership with Nielsen to bring its digital ad measurement offering to the platform.

Dan Robbins from Nielsen led the deal, later joining Roku himself and becoming its VP of Marketing and Partner Solutions.