Roku Rings in the New Year with 90 Million Streaming Households

Rhea-AI Summary

Roku, the leading TV OS in North America, has achieved a milestone of 90 million streaming households in early January 2025. The company dominates nearly half of all U.S. broadband households and maintains its position as the top-selling TV OS for over five years in the U.S.

In 2024, Roku marked significant anniversaries: 10 years of the Roku TV program and 15 years since launching its first streaming device. The company introduced new features including Backdrops and Roku Smart Picture. The platform offers over 500 free live linear channels in the U.S., with The Roku Channel ranking among the top 10 streaming services and experiencing 80% year-over-year growth.

The platform's success is attributed to features like universal search, What to Watch, and Live TV Guide, along with unique content destinations like the Olympics Zone. Roku's business model combines device sales with platform revenue from advertising and subscriptions.

Positive

• Reached 90 million streaming households milestone
• Maintains #1 TV OS position in US, Canada, and Mexico
• Present in nearly 50% of US broadband households
• The Roku Channel achieved 80% year-over-year growth
• The Roku Channel ranks in top 10 US streaming services

Negative

• None.

Insights

Technology Market Analyst

<p>The milestone of <b>90 million streaming households</b> represents a important inflection point in Roku's market dominance. The company's penetration of nearly half of all U.S. broadband households creates a powerful network effect that strengthens its advertising platform value proposition. The <b>80% year-over-year growth</b> in The Roku Channel viewership demonstrates successful content strategy execution and increasing platform monetization potential.</p><p>The platform's leadership in three major North American markets (U.S., Canada and Mexico) establishes significant barriers to entry for competitors. This geographic moat, combined with Roku's embedded presence in smart TVs through its OS licensing model, creates a sustainable competitive advantage in the streaming wars. The integration of innovative features like Backdrops and Smart Picture optimization indicates strong product development momentum to maintain market leadership.</p>

Digital Advertising Strategist

<p>Roku's achievement creates a compelling value proposition for advertisers seeking scale and engagement. As the lead-in to all TV content, Roku's position as gatekeeper to streaming consumption provides unique first-party data advantages and premium advertising inventory. The platform's reach of 90 million households offers advertisers unprecedented targeting capabilities across the connected TV landscape.</p><p>The growth of The Roku Channel as a top 10 streaming service amplifies the company's direct advertising revenue potential. With over 500 free linear channels and extensive on-demand content, Roku is building a robust owned-and-operated advertising ecosystem. The platform's innovative ad products like Roku City and Sports Zone demonstrate sophisticated capabilities to deliver engaging branded experiences that resonate with streaming audiences.</p>

Media Industry Analyst

<p>The 90 million household milestone validates Roku's platform-agnostic approach in the streaming wars. While competitors focus on content spending, Roku's strategy of being the neutral gateway to all streaming services creates sustainable platform economics. The integration of universal search and content discovery features addresses the growing complexity of the streaming landscape for consumers.</p><p>The Roku Pay system for subscription management positions the company to capture increasing value from the streaming ecosystem through revenue sharing and platform fees. This transaction layer, combined with advertising capabilities and device sales, creates a diversified revenue model. The decade-long success of the Roku TV program demonstrates the durability of the company's hardware-to-platform evolution strategy.</p>

Driven by global expansion, award-winning TVs and streaming devices, and a delightful viewer experience that is the lead-in to all TV

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Roku, the #1 selling TV OS in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico*, has surpassed 90 million streaming households in the first week of January 2025**, a significant milestone as streaming becomes the leading way to watch TV. As the top selling TV OS for over five years in the U.S.***, Roku is in nearly half of all U.S. broadband households.

“Roku’s extensive scale sets us apart in the streaming industry, with more engagement than any other TV OS platform in the U.S.,” said Anthony Wood, Founder and CEO, Roku. “Thanks to our laser focus on simplifying and enhancing the streamer’s journey, Roku is the preferred choice for millions of viewers. I’m grateful to our customers, partners, advertisers, and employees for helping us reach this notable milestone.”

In 2024, Roku celebrated 10 years of the Roku TV program and 15 years since the launch of Roku’s first connected streaming device, with millions of units sold to customers globally. Roku TVs and devices deliver an unparalleled viewing experience with a simple and iconic interface, seamless navigation, and a commitment to excellence that sets the standard in streaming. Last year, Roku continued to introduce innovative features that enhance the TV experience, including Backdrops, which transforms any Roku TV into a work of art, and Roku Smart Picture, which automatically optimizes picture quality.

Roku TVs and streaming players offer incredible value for customers with an always expanding content library, including over 500 free live linear channels in the U.S., premium exclusive content, and thousands of free-on demand options. The Roku Channel is a top 10 streaming service in the U.S.**** and has seen over 80% year-over-year growth*****. With the increasing number of streaming choices available, Roku’s features like universal search, What to Watch, and Live TV Guide make it easy to find your favorite content across multiple apps, and Roku’s unique content destinations, like the recent Olympics Zone, offer genre-based programming from across the platform in one convenient location, for seamless browsing and discovery.

Roku devices, featuring the Roku Experience, form the foundation of Roku's platform business, which encompasses advertising and subscriptions. Advertisers love Roku because it’s the lead-in to all TV, featuring unique advertising experiences like Roku City and the Sports Zone. Streaming services appreciate the ability to promote subscriptions on the Roku platform, and Roku Pay simplifies the process for streamers seeking a simple way to sign up for and manage subscriptions through Roku.

For more information, please visit Roku.com.

*Circana, LLC, Retail Tracking Service, TV, Software Service, Unit Sales, 3 Months Ending September 2024

**Roku ended its fiscal year 2024 with 89.8 million streaming households.

***Circana, LLC, Retail Tracking Service, US, TV, Software Service, Unit Sales, January 2019 – September 2024.

****Nielsen November Gauge Report (10/28/2024-11/24/2024)

*****Roku internal data (Fourth Quarter 2023 to Fourth Quarter 2024)

About Roku, Inc.

Roku pioneered streaming on TV. We connect users to the content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku TV™ models, Roku streaming players, and TV-related audio devices are available in various countries around the world through direct retail sales and/or licensing arrangements with TV OEM brands. Roku-branded TVs and Roku Smart Home products are sold exclusively in the United States. Roku also operates The Roku Channel, the home of free and premium entertainment with exclusive access to Roku Originals, and the #3 app on our platform by both reach and engagement. The Roku Channel is available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., U.S.A.

Roku is a registered trademark, and Roku TV is a trademark of Roku, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries.

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited to those related Roku’s streaming household growth and reaching future milestones; trends in TV viewing and advertising; and the benefits of the Roku platform. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent the Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Roku’s websites and are available from Roku without charge.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250107961052/en/

Media Contacts

Jack Evans

jackevans@roku.com

Brigitte Gilbert

bgilbert@roku.com

Source: Roku, Inc.

FAQ

How many streaming households does Roku have in 2025?

Roku reached 90 million streaming households in the first week of January 2025.

What is Roku's market share in US broadband households?

Roku is present in nearly half of all U.S. broadband households.

How much has The Roku Channel grown year-over-year?

The Roku Channel has experienced over 80% year-over-year growth.

How many free live linear channels does Roku offer in the US?

Roku offers over 500 free live linear channels in the U.S.

How long has Roku been the top-selling TV OS in the US?

Roku has been the top-selling TV OS in the U.S. for over five years.

What new features did Roku introduce recently?

Roku recently introduced Backdrops, which transforms TVs into artwork, and Roku Smart Picture, which automatically optimizes picture quality.