Roku closed the second quarter of 2022 with 63.1 million active accounts, an increase on the previous quarter and on the same quarter in the year before. Roku is one of the major players in the streaming device industry, with its Roku players and smart TVs. The company has also spread its streaming wings into services as well. For example, The Roku Channel offers free access to movies and episodes as well as the option to subscribe to premium networks.
All of which has made Roku a popular option among consumers for both hardware and services. The latest quarter was no different with the 63.1 million active accounts resulting in a 14 percent year-over-year increase in Q2 2022. Roku ended the same quarter of 2021 with 55.1 million active accounts, equating to a total of eight million new active accounts over the past 12 months. The company also closed the first quarter of this year with 61.3 million active accounts, resulting in a 1.8 million quarter-over-quarter increase.
Naturally, a year-over-year increase in the number of active accounts also resulted in a year-over-year increase in the number of streaming hours. According to Roku’s Q2 shareholder letter, 20.7 billion hours were streamed during the last quarter and this compares to 17.4 hours in the second quarter of 2021, the equivalent of a 19 percent yearly increase. Interestingly, the 20.7 billion streaming hours in Q2 was slightly less than the 20.9 billion hours streamed during the last quarter.
As has been the case for many quarters now, the streaming industry, like many others, has been impacted by a variety of factors including the pandemic, shortages, and concerns over rising inflation and recession. This led Roku to be more conservative in its prediction for Q3 and Q4 of 2022. Particularly, Roku expects advertiser spend to continue to be negatively impacted and consumer spend to be more discerning in the months ahead.
