After twenty years of independence, Roku is being acquired for $22 billion by this company.
Roku
Fox is making a significant move in the streaming landscape. The media corporation has announced an agreement to acquire Roku in a deal estimated at around $22 billion, merging one of the largest assortments of sports, news, and entertainment programming with one of the most popular streaming platforms globally.
As part of the agreement, Fox will compensate Roku shareholders with a combination of cash and stock, valuing the company at $160 per share. The deal is anticipated to finalize in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other usual conditions.
Why possess a show when you control the screen?
This agreement represents a pivotal change for Fox, which has focused on live programming and ad-supported streaming since selling a substantial part of its entertainment assets to Disney. Its most notable streaming success has been Tubi, the complimentary service it acquired for $440 million in 2020. Currently, Tubi reaches over 100 million users monthly. By incorporating Roku, Fox will gain direct access to a connected-TV ecosystem covering over 100 million streaming households worldwide, which encompasses Roku’s operating system, streaming devices, advertising operations, viewer data capabilities, and The Roku Channel.
Roku
Fox has stated that Roku will continue to function as an open platform, indicating that competing streaming services and content partners will not find themselves excluded. The company has also confirmed that Roku’s founder and CEO, Anthony Wood, will remain engaged after the acquisition concludes and will join Fox’s board.
One of streaming’s last independent players is cashing in
This acquisition comes at a significant time for Roku. After years of focusing on growth instead of profits while contending with giants like Amazon, Google, Samsung, and Apple, the company recently reported its first complete year of profitability. In 2025, Roku declared a net income of $88.4 million on $4.74 billion in revenue. This turnaround likely made Roku a more desirable target. The company pioneered the streaming device category well before smart TVs became ubiquitous but managed to stay independent while much of the media and technology arena consolidated around it.
Roku TV
Fox believes this merger will greatly enhance its standing in the television industry. The companies predict that the combined entity would become the third-largest television player in the United States by viewing share. The financial rationale is also evident. Fox anticipates hundreds of millions of dollars in annual cost savings, along with new advertising and revenue prospects resulting from blending Roku’s platform reach with Fox’s content offerings. For viewers, no immediate changes are expected. However, behind the scenes, one of streaming’s enduring independent success stories is preparing to embark on a new chapter — and Fox is wagering billions that the future of television will rely as much on distribution as it does on content.
Shimul contributes to Digital Trends and has over five years of experience in the technology sector.
Peacock is introducing vertical Bravo microdramas and a TikTok-style feed soon for your mobile device
Peacock aims to get you scrolling through Bravo content on your phone similarly to how you browse TikTok
Peacock is fully committing to vertical video. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the NBCUniversal-owned streaming service is launching original Bravo microdramas and a TikTok-inspired scrollable feed this month as part of a major initiative to encourage more mobile content consumption.
Inside Peacock's new vertical video lineup
Read more
Gore Verbinski criticizes AI-generated scripts, suggesting they deserve an F
Gore Verbinski has taken aim at Hollywood's AI script dilemma
Gore Verbinski has a straightforward message for filmmakers contemplating using AI for scripts. According to Variety, the director of Pirates of the Caribbean and Rango has suggested a rating system to indicate how artificial intelligence is utilized in films. His most pointed critique was regarding screenwriting, asserting that if AI is involved in writing a script, the film should receive an F in that rating system. With Hollywood still navigating the role of AI, this viewpoint on AI-generated visuals and automated writing tools is quite provocative.
Read more
This Adam Driver drama is among the 3 underrated movies on Prime Video you should check out this weekend (Jun 12-14)
Unseen treasures on Prime Video that will linger with you long after viewing
This weekend's movie selections on Prime Video include a low-budget sci-fi that transforms a dinner party into an existential crisis, a Swedish dramedy that will evoke tears before you realize what has happened, and one of Adam Driver's subtly heart-wrenching performances in a film centered on a man who writes poems and drives a bus for a living.
We also provide guides to the best new movies available for streaming, the top films on Netflix, the best options on Hulu, and the finest films on Amazon Prime Video.
Other articles
After twenty years of independence, Roku is being acquired for $22 billion by this company.
Fox is acquiring Roku in a monumental $22 billion agreement that has the potential to transform the streaming industry, aligning one of the largest content libraries in television with a platform that reaches over 100 million homes globally.
