Fox has completed its $22 billion acquisition of Roku, wrapping up one of the biggest media deals in recent years and giving the company a major boost in the streaming and connected TV space.
Announced Friday, the deal brings the streaming company founded in 2002 formally under Fox’s ownership. Fox says the combined company now ranks as the third-largest television business in the U.S. by viewership.
“We started Roku more than two decades ago to give people a better way to watch TV, and that mission doesn’t change today. What does change is our reach and resources,” Roku founder Anthony Wood said in a statement. “Our teams will keep building and innovating as they always have, now with the support and capabilities of Fox behind us.”
For Fox, the move provides direct access to Roku’s reach of more than 100 million households. The company expects that audience to help it improve advertising targeting, strengthen its position in the fast-growing connected TV market, and reduce its reliance on traditional TV distribution.
Today’s announcement comes two months after the Justice Department issued a second request for information, asking both companies to provide additional data and documents as part of its antitrust review. Earlier this month, reports suggested the deal was nearing U.S. regulatory approval.
The acquisition also closed much earlier than expected. When the deal was first announced in June, the companies projected it would be completed in the first half of 2027.
Source: techcrunch.com
