A report came through late last week suggesting Roku may up for sale. Well, things appear to have moved pretty rapidly over the weekend, especially considering Roku is definitely not up for sale now. It’s been acquired by Fox Corporation.
What You Need to Know
- Roku has been bought by Fox Corporation in a deal valued at $22 billion.
- The acquisition gives Fox an even stronger foothold in the market, and particularly in FAST, hardware, and first-party data.
- The combined company is expected to become the third‑largest U.S. TV player by share of viewing.
While the report from last week specifically mentioned that Roku was currently only toying with the idea of a sale, it had apparently actively engaged in talks with at least one U.S. media company.
Although it was unclear who that media company was at the time, it now seems fairly obvious that Fox was one of the media companies taking part in those discussions.
According to the details announced today, Fox has acquired Roku in a deal valued at $22 billion.
“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,” said Anthony Wood, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Roku.
As a result the deal, the plan now is to combine the two companies into a single next-generation media and technology giant.
One with reach into a variety of TV and streaming markets, including live news, entertainment and sports, FAST, hardware, and plenty of first-party data.
“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. In 2019, we reoriented the company around live news and sports. In 2020, we acquired Tubi and under our stewardship it has become one of the most successful businesses in streaming. Today, we take the next step: bringing together the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it,” said Lachlan K. Murdoch, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Corporation.
As far as mergers go, this look like it will be a significant one. According to Fox, the combination will result in the creation of the third-largest player in U.S. television by share of viewing.
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