- Fox is acquiring Roku for $22 billion
- The agreement will combine Fox’s networks with the Roku TV platform
- The deal will close in 2027, but Roku users are already seeking alternative streaming devices
Fox Corp has announced a new agreement that will see the television giant acquire streaming company Roku for a staggering $22 billion — a deal that will no doubt shake up the entertainment sphere.
The companies announced the deal today (June 15, 2026), and it will mark the next step in Fox’s plan to become more competitive in the streaming world, reports CNBC. The deal will combine Fox’s plethora of news, sports, and entertainment networks with the Roku TV platform, The Roku Channel, and first-party data to reach the 100 million households that use Roku.
Additionally, this will also combine one of the best free streaming services, Tubi, which Fox acquired for $440 million back in 2020.
As per the agreement, Fox will acquire Roku for $160 per share in a cash-and-stock transaction, and the company says it has already secured $12 billion in loans to finance it. The deal has already been approved by the boards of directors from both companies and is projected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals.
During an analyst call, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch described the deal as a “defining moment” for Fox and “a natural extension of the deliberate and focused strategy we have been executing for nearly a decade.”
He added, “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,” as Variety reports.
As for Roku CEO and founder, Anthony Wood, he will join Fox’s board of directors and will assume an “ongoing role” as a result of the acquisition. “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,” Wood shared in a statement, which Variety also reported.
Fox’s merger with Roku is the company’s first major deal since Disney acquired Fox’s entertainment business, which saw recognizable franchises including The Simpsons and X-Men, as well as programming from Fox-owned channels National Geographic and FX Networks, make their way to Disney+.
For years, Fox hasn’t quite been able to compete with streaming giants such as Netflix and YouTube. Combining its networks with Roku opens another gateway for Fox to expand into streaming and subscriptions, but Roku users are already considering alternatives.
For some Roku users, it’s all downhill from here
Entertainment companies seem to be joining forces quite a bit recently. The deal between Paramount+ and Warner Bros. Discovery has now been approved by the US Department of Justice, but Fox’s acquisition of Roku has particularly shaken things up for Roku users. They’ve already been quite vocal on their concerns for what this agreement could mean — especially regarding the controversial Fox News.
According to one user on Reddit, their Roku device has apparently been pushing ads for Fox News, suggesting this deal has been in development for quite some time. “Time for a new streaming stick,” they added. But it’s not just the ads that users are worried about.
Other users flocked to the Reddit thread to share their concerns, and many believe that the ubiquity of Fox News will only escalate from here. One user says that, gradually, Fox could “show their propaganda and misinformation more and more by defaulting users to Fox News”.
Another user highlighted that Roku is a popular, budget-friendly streaming option, which is also built into a lot of cheaper smart TVs, giving Fox another easy gateway into this particular market.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.
Read the full article here
