Fox Bets on Streaming With $22 Billion Roku Deal

Fox Corp. said it will buy streaming technology company Roku in a deal valued at $22 billion including debt, according to a joint announcement. Roku was among the first companies to let viewers access streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube on TVs through streaming devices and smart televisions.

Roku makes most of its money from advertising and subscriptions for streaming apps on its platform. Advertising remains its biggest revenue source, bringing in $613 million in the first quarter, up 27% from a year earlier.

Under the cash-and-stock terms, Fox will pay $160 per Roku share, a premium of 11.4% over Roku’s last closing price. The companies expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2027. Fox said the combination would unite its sports, news and entertainment channels with Roku’s platform, which it said reaches more than 100 million households worldwide.

Fox said in a statement that together the companies will create a next-generation media and technology company focused on two major forces reshaping content consumption, live sports and news, and the continued growth of streaming. The companies also said Roku will remain an open, partner-friendly platform and that Fox content will continue to be distributed there. Fox chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch called it a “momentous” step and a natural extension of the company’s strategy, while Roku founder Anthony Wood said the company had spent two decades building the leading streaming platform and changing how people discover and enjoy entertainment. Fox already owns Tubi, Roku’s main rival, which it bought in 2019.