According to Mateusz Jędrocha, CPO at Adlook, Fox’s acquisition of Roku has been on the cards for years.

“Fox was the only major broadcaster without a credible streaming distribution layer, while Roku was the leading CTV platform without a live content anchor. Together, both problems disappear. More broadly, it reflects a shift across the industry, where control of audiences, data and distribution is becoming just as valuable as content itself. The more interesting question is what happens next,” said Jędrocha. “Roku’s value has always come from its neutrality. Bringing together content, data and distribution could help address some of CTV’s longstanding challenges around measurement and transparency. But the same integration could also create a more closed ecosystem. For advertisers, the outcome will depend on whether Fox uses that control to improve visibility into performance or simply build another walled garden.”

Chris Kelly, CEO of Upwave, suggests the deal underscores the growing value of first-party viewing data and direct consumer relationships in the connected TV ecosystem.

“Roku sits at the centre of the streaming landscape, with deep consumer reach and one of the largest ad-supported streaming platforms in the market. This deal further reflects the strategic importance of bringing together content, distribution, and advertising capabilities, offering advertisers new opportunities to understand and engage audiences in more meaningful ways,” commented Kelly. “For advertisers, however, the ultimate question remains the same: did the investment drive a measurable outcome? As the CTV landscape continues to evolve, more data and greater connectivity can create stronger opportunities for platforms and advertisers alike, but the real challenge is understanding which investments drive brand, behavioral, and business outcomes.”

Analysts at LightShed Partners say that legacy media has long suffered from the innovator’s dilemma, with most players allergic to risk noting: “Fox buying Roku is a bold move. Fox has repeatedly talked about using its financial strength to make acquisitions and was routinely criticised for being underlevered, but Roku is a far larger acquisition than any Fox investor expected. We have believed for years that Roku has been a valuable and unique chess piece in the streaming wars, and we are genuinely surprised that so many of Fox’s far larger peers passed.”

They suggest that the autumn 2025 resolution of the Murdoch Family Trust cemented Lachlan Murdoch’s control of Fox through 2050.

“Despite the relative strength of Fox’s sports and news assets, Murdoch lacked a long-term narrative as linear TV inevitably shrinks (Tubi was simply not big enough, nor profitable enough, to be that story). Roku dramatically repositions the Fox investment case: Fox becomes the most powerful gatekeeper in streaming without the financial bloodletting its peers have suffered launching SVoD services to chase Netflix and YouTube. With ~30 per cent of the combined company’s revenue now tied to streaming and digital, Fox clearly has a future beyond linear TV,” concludes LightShed Partners.

Harry Browne, VP, TV, Audio & Display Innovation at Tinuiti, notes that Roku has long been viewed as a valuable strategic asset given the reach of its operating system, the rise of FAST networks, and its role in the broader CTV advertising ecosystem. He also points to Roku’s recent identity partnership with Amazon as a key area to watch, particularly whether Fox will be able to leverage that unified authenticated CTV footprint to bolster its own advertising capabilities.

From an advertiser’s perspective, Browne says the deal reinforces the industry’s march toward consolidation, which could help stabilise streaming CPMs after several years of pressure while helping Fox stay competitive as total TV continues to shift from linear to digital.

Brown’s thoughts on the deal:

• “Consolidation Continues: As we have often noted, consolidation is the major theme in the streaming landscape today, and this announcement further solidifies the trend. The streaming landscape remains very fractured, with nine major streaming platforms (and a long tail after that), meaning audiences are dispersed and no platform can claim a monopoly. This is incentivized major combinations – Paramount Warner Bros, most recently – in effort to gain a critical audience mass under a single roof. Roku has been a major target during this stretch given the growth of FAST streaming networks and the value of its operating system, which is used by ~1/3 of US households. Overall, expect this consolidation trend to help keep streaming CPMs stable after several years of decline.

• Fox Stays Relevant: Fox is an interesting acquirer for Roku. While Fox has a decent position in total TV viewership (ahead of WBD and trailing Paramount), it has gotten there without a strong streaming presence (Nielsen groups Fox One in its ignominious ‘Other Streaming’ bucket). The move to acquire Roku positions Fox to stay relevant as the industry continues its shift away from linear and over to digital streaming.

• Fox-Roku-Amazon: Roku made a major announcement last year to partner with Amazon in unifying their identity spaces and creating the largest authenticated CTV footprint. In practice, this was intended to boost the value of Amazon DSP for CTV advertising, as media planning and targeting across these ecosystems become more unified. We will be keeping an eye on Amazon over the next few days / weeks to see if there are any announcements about Fox being able to capitalise on that unified identity space for its own advertising capabilities.”

Harry Browne, VP, TV, Audio & Display Innovation at Tinuiti, notes that Roku has long been viewed as a valuable strategic asset given the reach of its operating system, the rise of FAST networks, and its role in the broader CTV advertising ecosystem. He also points to Roku’s recent identity partnership with Amazon as a key area to watch, particularly whether Fox will be able to leverage that unified authenticated CTV footprint to bolster its own advertising capabilities.

From an advertiser’s perspective, Browne says the deal reinforces the industry’s march toward consolidation, which could help stabilise streaming CPMs after several years of pressure while helping Fox stay competitive as total TV continues to shift from linear to digital.

Browne’s thoughts on the deal:

• “Consolidation Continues: As we have often noted, consolidation is the major theme in the streaming landscape today, and this announcement further solidifies the trend. The streaming landscape remains very fractured, with nine major streaming platforms (and a long tail after that), meaning audiences are dispersed and no platform can claim a monopoly. This is incentivized major combinations – Paramount Warner Bros, most recently – in effort to gain a critical audience mass under a single roof. Roku has been a major target during this stretch given the growth of FAST streaming networks and the value of its operating system, which is used by ~1/3 of US households. Overall, expect this consolidation trend to help keep streaming CPMs stable after several years of decline.

• Fox Stays Relevant: Fox is an interesting acquirer for Roku. While Fox has a decent position in total TV viewership (ahead of WBD and trailing Paramount), it has gotten there without a strong streaming presence (Nielsen groups Fox One in its ignominious ‘Other Streaming’ bucket). The move to acquire Roku positions Fox to stay relevant as the industry continues its shift away from linear and over to digital streaming.

• Fox-Roku-Amazon: Roku made a major announcement last year to partner with Amazon in unifying their identity spaces and creating the largest authenticated CTV footprint. In practice, this was intended to boost the value of Amazon DSP for CTV advertising, as media planning and targeting across these ecosystems become more unified. We will be keeping an eye on Amazon over the next few days / weeks to see if there are any announcements about Fox being able to capitalise on that unified identity space for its own advertising capabilities.”

Vikrant Mathur, Co-Founder of Future Today, suggests that Fox is betting $22 billion that ad-supported TV is the future, and as someone who has been building in this space since 2006, he thinks think the company is right. “Combining Tubi, Fox’s live programming and Roku’s 100 million household platform creates one of the most powerful content platforms CTV has ever seen. On the regulatory front, expect scrutiny. When a single company controls a major content portfolio, a dominant ad-sales operation and the largest independent CTV distribution platform in the US that’s exactly the kind of vertical integration the DoJ and FTC have been focused on. The key question for regulators will be whether Fox can credibly keep Roku neutral or whether the economics of a $22 billion deal inevitably tilt the playing field toward Fox-owned properties,” he concludes.

According to Sam Maloney, Commercial Director, Teads, Fox buying Roku points to a wider read of a fragmented video landscape; it comes with both challenges and opportunities. “Challenges around walled gardens make it harder for advertisers, and, at the same time, create opportunities for collaboration and innovation,” he adds.

“Consumers now move seamlessly between platforms and formats, so connected approaches across traditional TV and streaming could result in more consistent, coordinated, and more attention-effective advertising. Looking beyond this deal, the opportunity is incremental reach and coordinated storytelling across placements, formats, and screens.”

“In contrast, the deal is simultaneously at risk of creating more silos with yet another addition to a walled garden ecosystem. Without transparency, advertisers aren’t able to manage ads, measurement and cross-platform execution as holistically, effectively going against the potential positive implications and feeding into existing concerns around walled gardens getting higher.”

“For Fox, the takeover provides access to Roku’s 100 million active subscribers and their data, as well as the ability for Fox-owned apps to get a larger share of voice. For the industry, it signifies both a new way of thinking – approaching traditional viewing and newer formats with a unified lens – and, at the same time, yet another threat to the open Web,” he warns.

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Tags: Fox, Lachlan Murdoch, roku