Fox is making its biggest streaming move yet. The media giant announced plans to acquire Roku in a deal valued at roughly $22 billion, bringing together one of television’s largest collections of sports, news, and entertainment programming with one of the most widely used streaming platforms in the world.
Under the agreement, Fox will pay Roku shareholders a mix of cash and stock, valuing the company at $160 per share. The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
Why own a show when you own the screen?
The deal marks a major shift for Fox, which has spent the years since selling much of its entertainment empire to Disney building a business centered on live programming and ad-supported streaming. Its biggest streaming success has been Tubi, the free service it acquired in 2020 for $440 million. Today, Tubi reaches more than 100 million monthly users. By adding Roku, Fox gains direct access to a connected-TV ecosystem spanning more than 100 million streaming households globally. That includes Roku’s operating system, streaming devices, advertising business, viewer data capabilities, and The Roku Channel.
Fox says Roku will continue operating as an open platform, signaling that rival streaming services and content partners won’t suddenly find themselves locked out. The company also confirmed that Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood will remain involved after the deal closes and will join Fox’s board.
One of streaming’s last independents is cashing in
The acquisition arrives at a notable moment for Roku. After years of prioritizing growth over profitability while competing against bigwigs such as Amazon, Google, Samsung, and Apple, the company recently posted its first full year of profit. In 2025, Roku reported net income of $88.4 million on revenue of $4.74 billion. That turnaround likely made Roku a far more attractive target. The company helped define the streaming-device category long before smart TVs became commonplace, yet it remained independent while much of the media and technology landscape consolidated around it.
Fox believes the combination will significantly strengthen its position in the television market. The companies estimate the merged business would rank as the third-largest TV player in the United States by share of viewing. The financial logic is equally clear. Fox expects hundreds of millions of dollars in annual cost savings, along with new advertising and revenue opportunities created by combining Roku’s platform reach with Fox’s content portfolio. For viewers, nothing is expected to change immediately. But behind the scenes, one of streaming’s longest-running independent success stories is preparing to enter a new chapter — and Fox is betting billions that the future of television will be built as much on distribution as it is on content.
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