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Fox Is Buying Roku For $22 Billion (cnn.com) 74

Posted by BeauHD from the battle-for-the-living-room dept.
Fox is buying Roku for $22 billion, combining Fox's sports, news, entertainment, Tubi, and Fox One offerings with a streaming platform that reaches about 100 million people. The companies say the merger would create the "third-largest player in US television by share of viewing," while Fox insists Roku will remain open to competing apps after the deal closes. CNN reports: Fox has dabbled in streaming over the past few years -- finally launching its Fox One competitor last August -- but has lacked a serious streaming business with the ability to compete in a space dominated by YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Peacock. With CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery receiving initial US regulatory approval to combine with Paramount, Fox's purchase of Roku became more urgent. [...] The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027 with the companies forecasting $400 million in savings. "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," said Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch. "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."

Murdoch said Roku will continue to offer competing apps. "It's essential that Roku remain open and partner-friendly business. We don't see that changing at all."
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Fox Is Buying Roku For $22 Billion More

Fox Is Buying Roku For $22 Billion

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  • Layoffs (Score:5, Informative)

    by darkain ( 749283 ) on Monday June 15, 2026 @01:04PM (#66193688) Homepage

    "The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027 with the companies forecasting $400 million in savings."

    AKA: mass layoffs.

    • Maybe Roku has been paying to carry Fox content, or Fox has been paying Roku to carry content (I don't know how their deals work), and now that doesn't have to happen anymore?

      • Re:Layoffs (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Waffle Iron ( 339739 ) on Monday June 15, 2026 @02:14PM (#66193900)

        Maybe Roku has been paying to carry Fox content, or Fox has been paying Roku to carry content (I don't know how their deals work), and now that doesn't have to happen anymore?

        Let's do the math:

        ($Fox + $Payment) + ($Roku - $Payment) = $Fox + $Roku

        That's a zero-sum transaction. No $400M savings there.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dgatwood ( 11270 )

          Maybe Roku has been paying to carry Fox content, or Fox has been paying Roku to carry content (I don't know how their deals work), and now that doesn't have to happen anymore?

          Let's do the math:

          ($Fox + $Payment) + ($Roku - $Payment) = $Fox + $Roku

          That's a zero-sum transaction. No $400M savings there.

          Nope. You forgot the government factor:

          ($Fox + $Payment - (corporate_income_tax_rate * $Payment)) + ($Roku - $Payment = $Fox + $Roku - (corporate_income_tax_rate * $Payment).

          So depending on what state the income is earned in, Anywhere from about 21% to about 30% of that could be going to taxes. So they could easily save $400M in taxes if that payment happens to be at least $1.3 billion or so. I doubt that's the case, of course.

          • There is no way the whole payment is taxable. Only certain *profits* are taxed, not all cash flow, and corporations have accountants who make sure any such profits are minimal.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by narcc ( 412956 )

              Only certain *profits* are taxed, not all cash flow

              Shhh! Don't say that out loud! These morons still think that tax cuts create jobs. Stop trying to educate them!

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by dgatwood ( 11270 )

              Oh, yeah, I just realized that this is an expense on the Roku side, so the taxes would cancel out. Ugh.

              Then yes, you're correct that there's no possible way for consolidating two businesses to save money without direct job loss, other than perhaps reducing payouts to external companies for things that they both do (e.g. accountants).

    • Re:Layoffs (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Deathlizard ( 115856 ) on Monday June 15, 2026 @02:07PM (#66193882) Homepage Journal

      I'm sure the home automation / security wing will go bye bye as soon as this is finalized. At least you can go to Wyze since they were basically rebranded Wyze devices anyway.

      Personally, I tended to recommend Roku streamers to my friends and family, primarily because they were stupid proof and had a long shelf life since they tend to support the older streamers for at least 10 years, unlike Google which reinvented their streaming platform 4 times (Google TV, Chromecast, Android TV, NEW Google TV) in the span where Roku finally stopped supporting their Roku 2's. Nvidia shields are way to expensive vs the other platforms. Fire sticks are an app desert unless you jailbreak them because of Amazon's insistence of supporting their archaic dead app store, and smart TV's (except for Roku's TV) tend to never see another update after their 2nd or 3rd year.

      Roku as a company however was a dumpster fire. Between jailing their platform to starting quasi carriage disputes with app providers, their leadership brought them to the point where YouTube's app went dark and Smart TV companies threatened to all jump ship to Google's dumpster fire TV platform of the day until they finally backed off. So TLDR, they'll fit perfectly with Fox Execs.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dfghjk ( 711126 )

        "...Google TV, Chromecast, Android TV, NEW Google TV, Nvidia ..."
        Yep, that's definitely the list of Roku competitors! Definitely no other companies in the market.

        "Personally, I tended to recommend Roku streamers to my friends and family, primarily because they were stupid proof and had a long shelf life since they tend to support the older streamers for at least 10 years, "
        The problem is just how awful their software is. The only thing worse than Roku software is using it for 10 years. Roku is an embarra

  • cord cutting (Score:5, Insightful)

    by danamln ( 871842 ) on Monday June 15, 2026 @01:08PM (#66193708)
    Transforming into a targeted ad broker, makes sense while you watch your traditional cable channels earnings dry up.

  • So that just leaves the sportsball and right-wing political tripe, which I'm sure they'll revamp the Roku UI to absolutely shove down your throat. Wonderful. I guess this my cue to disconnect my Roku TVs (hey, they were cheap) from the WIFI.

    At least it's no great loss, as I use those cheap Walmart Onn streamers with the TVs anyway.

    • Disney bought 20th Century Fox (movie studios). This article is about Rupert Murdoch's Fox. Which is something different I think.

  • I have a (very old) Roku that I quite like. Oh well. I'm glad I didn't spend the money to upgrade to a newer one.

  • dead now (Score:5, Interesting)

    by awwshit ( 6214476 ) on Monday June 15, 2026 @01:20PM (#66193736)

    Roku lost me when they became an advertising company. Roku is fully dead to me now.

    • Roku lost me when they became an advertising company.

      I bought my elderly dad a Roku stick a couple of Christmases ago. It was under thirty bucks, and to my surprise it included a massive amount of free content and channels.

      With them practically giving away the hardware + content like that I don't know how they could be anything but an advertising company and still stay afloat.

      • Exactly, its just a vehicle to show you ads, its not about streaming at all, other than streaming ads.

        They gave up on being a hardware company long ago.

      • Of course, the main alternative is to pay big bucks for cable, and *still* see nonstop ads.

        • Of course, the main alternative is to pay big bucks for cable, and *still* see nonstop ads.

          My elderly dad has a "dumb" TV and he wanted to watch some streaming content (BritBox & The Knowledge Network) so I got him the Roku. Installing the streamers' apps on the device is pretty straightforward.

          He still has cable TV for things like the local news.

          I am GenX so I still have cable TV as well, but I just PVR something like SNL and just press [Skip] [Skip] [Skip] [Skip] when the ads come on. I do

      • This are the reasons I use Roku. Easy, reliable, free stuff. I've tried Nvidia Shield and it was simply too much. I don't want to screw around with a streaming box, I just want it to work. I'd have looked at AppleTV but their lack of support for external media kinda sucks.

    • I already didn't like Roku since they orphaned my 3 Soundbridges (an M1000, an M500, and an M2000), but I was starting to weaken and thinking about buying one of their TV boxes.

      This certainly streamlines the decision. Nope.

  • Let the enshittification begin!!

    • Roku quality has been circling the drain for years. I only keep it as a front end for my Jellyfin media server.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by leonbev ( 111395 )

        Yeah, the interface has been slowly becoming more ad encrusted throughout the years.

        The Roku Channel also has a really odd selection of movies, with a surprisingly large collection of Cinemax style soft core porn if that's your thing. Seemed like an odd thing to give away on an free ad supported service, but hey... you do you, Roku!

    • Begin? They always were about advertising.

  • that's too much money (Score:4, Informative)

    by toxonix ( 1793960 ) on Monday June 15, 2026 @01:37PM (#66193790)

    Roku can't be worth 22 Billion. 100 million users is way-overestimated. If you're still on a Roku, buy a Shield. It's the same or at least not worse. I can't tell. At least the Shield seems to be more stable/better on Wifi.

    • If you're still on a Roku, buy a Shield.

      Roku is more than a little dongle you plug into a TV. They offer subscription management systems, a whole TV channel, they have apps for streaming and are often pre-installed on TVs too. And while looking up how their subscription system worked I found out they have smart homes too, lightbulbs, doorbells, etc.

      Not that I see value in any of this, but my point is that a Shield replaces only a tiny fraction of what Roku offers.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Puls4r ( 724907 )
        Roku's integration with subscription services is a disaster. Of the 3 subscriptions to streaming services that I've purchased through Roku, every single one has had major problems.

        One deauthed me and I was never able to log back in. Roku said I had a subscription, the streaming service claimed I did not. Had to get a refunded and purchase through the streaming service.

        One refused to cancel after I was done. Roku claimed that I didn't purchase it through them, even though I could prove I did easily

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by LT218 ( 2815469 )

          Seems like a you problem.

          I've been using Rokus with subscriptions to a multitude of streaming services coming and going for many years without issue. Ditto for friends and family members who I've encouraged to use Rokus.

          Sadly, I guess that's coming to an end as I fully expect Fox to enshittify Roku's UI with as many ads as they can cram into it shortly after the acquisition completes. Having ads puked all over every screen was the reason I quit using the original Amazon Fire sticks back in the day.

          Apple TV

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Junta ( 36770 )

      That device is $200. A random household that grabs a roku stick from walmart for $20 is not the same target demographic.

      Ignoring the fact that a large share of smart TVs use Roku as their OS as well. So those random TVs are either Google, Roku, or some vendor specific thing.

    • Roku can't be worth 22 Billion. 100 million users is way-overestimated. If you're still on a Roku, buy a Shield. It's the same or at least not worse. I can't tell. At least the Shield seems to be more stable/better on Wifi.

      I really don't know where your problem is coming from. I assume you're here because you're an IT guy. Me too. My Roku has worked fine for about 10 years now. Everything that connects to it is via wifi. NO ISSUES. NONE. I stream TV from Xfinity via wif ito the Roku and again - NO ISSUES. I have a more modern Roku that I use in a different part of the house, but my main TV is about 10 years old and the newer Roku can't form a stable HDMI connection with it. I'm guessing it's an old HDMI version iss

    • The shield is as enshittified as any google TV now.

    • Apple TV is by far the best streamer box for clean no-ads experiences.

  • At first I was in a panic (Score:4, Informative)

    by vilain ( 127070 ) on Monday June 15, 2026 @01:52PM (#66193834)
    I started searching for alternatives to the streaming device. They are out there. Then I saw that it will take at least until 2027 to approve the sale, if it goes through. A lot can happen between now and then. There are the midterms, the courts, and "random events". And there will likely be sales of competitors who want to snap up people who won't have anything associated with FOX in their lives, so wait for sales. And somewhere is an earlier version of the Google Streaming TV puck in my stuff. I just can't find it right now. It worked a year ago and it was only $20. Linus Tech Tips said it was the only streaming puck that didn't have any fuckery buried inside it's file directory. Now all I have to do is find it.

    • Linus Tech Tips said it was the only streaming puck that didn't have any fuckery buried inside it's file directory. Now all I have to do is find it.

      All you have to do is find it before Google cancels it, or shovels adware into it. Good luck!

  • All the more reason to keep your physical media (Score:3, Interesting)

    by grimsmath ( 820931 ) on Monday June 15, 2026 @01:53PM (#66193838) Homepage
    This, like all the other mass media conglomerate mergers, is just another reason why you should keep and backup your physical media and rely upon your own library of films, TV shows, music, and books to entertain. Corporate oligarchies are no different than any other power structure in the desire to control information dissemination among the masses.
  • Fox must not understand just how toxic their brand is to half the country. Anything they buy is going to lose half its customers overnight when there are cheap, competitive alternatives.

  • Does anyone use Roku? (Score:3)

    by Whateverthisis ( 7004192 ) on Monday June 15, 2026 @02:09PM (#66193888)
    I have a Roku stick on an old TV that makes it a streaming TV; it's pretty useful... to watch Netflix or AppleTV or Disney+. Does anyone use Roku's streaming services at all? Maybe it's just me, but I see them more as a dashboard for your streaming services rather than an actual streaming service.

    • I have a Roku stick on an old TV that makes it a streaming TV; it's pretty useful... to watch Netflix or AppleTV or Disney+.

      Yup, that's what I use it for. Streaming Spotify to my sound system too.

      Does anyone use Roku's streaming services at all? Maybe it's just me, but I see them more as a dashboard for your streaming services rather than an actual streaming service.

      Eh, I use the Roku Channel now and again. My wife and I like to watch some shows which we can only get by subscribing to a niche channel and it shows up in the Roku Channel app. I'm not sold on the service and will use whatever gets me the shows.

    • I've been using Roku for a while, and have tried several models. My only real complain in that time, is the current 4k model keeps loosing HDCP connection with the TV about once a week. Simple restart resolves the issue, I just wish I knew what exactly kept happening.

      For me they are a hardware company, I only use Roku to access my streaming services. I've never looked at any other the free material that they offer. As for paid material, Roku doesn't have my CC on file.

      Most of the time I've been using

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DeAxes ( 522822 )

      The only thing of interest on the Roku Streaming service, at least that I know, is the Weird Al Yankovic biopic, which itself is a satire of biopics.

  • ...that Roku really will be an open-access platform for competing networks.

    The temptation is going to be really big at Fox to make Fox content more prominent. The comfort of Roku is it isn't tied to any one content provider. OTOH, I used to work at EMC when it owned VMware and we managed to not screw up VMware by making it only work with EMC gear.

    Ah well, my current Roku stick has worked great for over five years. I've got my money's worth out of it. If I have to buy some other vendor's streaming client bec

  • ROku is just a data collection company... Grabbing when,where and what your watching...

    • what do you think the old before cable tv did?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by LT218 ( 2815469 )

      Maybe you've heard of Nielsen ratings? This might surprise you, but it does help media companies if get metrics/feedback on which shows and movies people like to watch.

      Assuming you're not one of the "I never watch any TVs or movies" luddites, I would guess you'd prefer media companies continue to produce the types of shows and movies you personally like? If so, it would behoove you to allow them to gather the metrics.

      There's a big difference between viewing metrics and ad enshittification.

  • Can we have a law that says if the company states something or promises something during the buying phase then it is written in law for that company.
    If they change their mind later then the current C suite gets 10 years in prison?

  • It was good while it lasted, but you can't "enshitify" any more efficiently or completely than the Fox brand enshitifies. I wonder how long it will take before I have to start buying different hardware?

  • Roku is NOTHING like it used to be over 20 years ago ! Used to have all kind of FREE channels and could side load new channels. Tried it again 3 years ago and nothing but paywalled content. Same as the Firestick !
  • For the longest time, Roku has been my go-to "smart" TV, since you can set it up sans-internet and turn it into a good "dumb" display. You can still do this with Google TV's but it isn't as good of any experience IMO. Fox will be looking to recoup their investment and surely remove this functionality.
  • I can't trust Murdoch any further than I can throw my diarrhea. Is it possible to hack the Roku boxes? Is there any opensource replacement f/w? Or just forget it and go with a (cr)Apple or (god forgive me) amazon adapter?
  • After companies merge your options go from two to one. So 1 + 1 = 1 after the merger. Doesn't make sense all that it somehow increases competition after a merger in the vast majority of cases - you can have CO-OP, mutual aid, shared or reciprocal agreement to word if a few ways - as separate companies or in this case of the media merger you could have interoperable between competitors (adversarial operability or COM COM as it is both ways said around EFF).

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