- Fox and Roku to combine content and platform, aiming to lead the next chapter of TV streaming.
- Deal expected to make the new company the third-largest player in U.S. TV market.
- Roku founder to have ongoing role in the merged company, as both promise to maintain an ‘open, partner-friendly platform’.
The streaming world was shaken up today after word hit timelines that Fox Corp is looking to acquire the streaming platform Roku for $22 billion.
Variety reports that Fox announced on Monday a deal to acquire Roku for $160.00/share in a combination of cash and Fox Class A common stock, valuing the company at about $22 billion.
Both companies expect the deal to be finalized in the first half of the calendar year 2027.
Per Variety:
The deal would combine Fox’s sports, news, and entertainment content and the Tubi service with Roku’s connected TV platform, the Roku Channel, first-party data, and direct relationship with more than 100 million global streaming households. Fox Corp.’s businesses include the Fox broadcast network and stations, Fox Sports, and Fox News Channel.
As for how Roku will operate after said deal has been completed, both companies claim they are “committed to continuing to operate Roku as an open, partner-friendly platform,” and will continue to distribute Fox Corp’s content.
Anthony Wood, Roku’s founder, chairman, and CEO, will have an ongoing role with the new merged company, and when the deal is all said and done, it will make it the third-largest player in U.S. TV.
Fox’s CEO Lachlan Murdoch Called The Deal A “Defining Moment”
“This is a defining moment for Fox, and a natural extension of the deliberate and focused strategy we have been executing for nearly a decade,” Lachlan Murdoch, executive chair and CEO of Fox, said in a statement noting that Roku’s acquisition will bring together “the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it. This combination will transform the scope of our company into high-growth verticals and yield a step change in our overall growth profile.”
“Roku pioneered streaming TV and scaled it into a leading [connected TV] platform. Together, we intend to lead its next chapter,” Fox continued.
Wood added, “Over the past two decades, we’ve built Roku into the leading TV streaming platform, reaching more than 100 million households globally and reshaping how people discover and enjoy entertainment. I’m incredibly proud of what our team has built, and the combination with Fox is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, scale faster and innovate more aggressively for viewers, partners and advertisers.”
In time when all of these mergers and acquisitions are not really producing any positive results, we shall see if this one somehow moves the needle.
