Fox Corporation has closed its $22 billion acquisition of Roku, broadening its streaming portfolio and providing another potential outlet for sports telecasts.
The company reached a cash-and-stock deal to purchase the streaming platform in June and, less than six months later, has received approvals and clearances to go forward with the agreement. Fox had originally projected the deal to close in the first half of 2027, but the media conglomerate has significantly expedited that timeline. Fox did not answer questions about the Roku transaction during its earnings call earlier in the week, but it had stated it hoped to close the deal as soon as possible.
“The closing of this acquisition advances the long-term strategy of FOX,” Lachlan Murdoch, executive chair/CEO of Fox Corporation, said in a statement. “Beginning today, our top priority for the combined company is to continue to relentlessly serve audiences and partners, while reinforcing the openness and choice that is the essence of the Roku platform. Our shared entrepreneurial passion and clear conviction toward building the future together with our new Roku colleagues gives us great confidence in the opportunities ahead of us.”
Under the terms of the deal, Fox shareholders will own 74% of the company, while Roku shareholders hold the remaining 26%. The company adds Roku to a portfolio that has included full ownership of Tubi for the last six years, both of which combine for nearly 5% of total day streaming viewership among P2+, according to data from Nielsen.
Anthony Wood, who founded Roku in 2002, is joining the Fox board of directors and will assume the position of co-chair of Fox Digital Platforms. The division includes a variety of Fox properties, among them Red Seat Ventures and FOX One in addition to Roku and Tubi. “We started Roku more than two decades ago to give people a better way to watch TV, and that mission doesn’t change today,” Wood said in a statement. “What does change in our reach and resources. FOX has a deep respect for Roku’s culture and wholly shares our commitment to staying open to every content partner.”
In its most recent earnings report, Roku reported adjusted EBITDA of $248.8 million, a 113% year over year gain. The company grew its Platform revenue to $1.3 billion for the quarter (+23% YoY) and also highlighted its sports experiences in a letter to shareholders, such as its NFL Zone hub. Roku has carried sporting events in the past, including hosting MLB Sunday Leadoff for two seasons.
In a shareholder letter penned by Wood and Roku CFO/COO Dan Jedda last quarter, Roku called its acquisition by Fox “an extraordinary opportunity” to “scale faster and innovate more aggressively.”
Fox has had a strategy of airing certain marquee sporting events live on Tubi, including the upcoming Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. Tubi streamed Super Bowl LIX in February 2025 and said it generated an average minute audience of 13.6 million viewers. It remains unknown if Fox would embark on a similar strategy with Roku, which also has a FAST channel of its own that is distributed on various smart televisions and other services.
Fox said that Roku, which is pre-installed on many devices around the country, would remain “a leading open ecosystem for the broader streaming industry.”
