The Roku TV licensing program is getting its newest manufacturer today as Shenzhen MTC brand JVC said it will begin making smart TVs with Roku’s operating system.
JVC will use Roku’s TV hardware reference designs and Roku OS to create a line of JVC smart TVs with the first HD JVC Roku TVs expected to ship in the U.S. later this year.
“Roku is America’s #1 streaming platform because it is incredibly easy to use and offers access to countless movies and TV episodes all from the home screen,” said John Araki, chief technology officer of JVC, in a statement. “We are looking forward to marrying our longstanding history of innovation with Roku’s popular smart TV platform as we aim to improve our customers’ everyday life with smartly designed products making life a little more fun.”
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“For more than 90 years JVC has been delivering quality video and audio products and we look forward to working with MTC to grow the JVC smart TV presence in the US,” said Chas Smith, general manager of Roku TV and players, in a statement. “We know most TV manufacturers will license a TV OS and are proud of our low-cost purpose-built solution and the level of collaboration and support that we offer our partners while delivering a superior experience to consumers.”
Roku’s TV program partners now include RCA, Hitachi, Hisense, TCL, Sanyo, Magnavox, Philips, Sharp, Element and JVC.
Roku uses its licensing efforts to TV manufacturers and service providers, along with the sales of its streaming players, to build scale for its platform. The company said it added nearly 7 million new active accounts in the past 12 months.
“With our platform, we are making the TV experience better for viewers, advertisers, and content owners. We see tremendous opportunity to continue to innovate on Roku TVs and players,” the company said in an earnings release.
The company said approximately 1 in 4 smart TVs sold in the U.S. in the first half of 2018 were Roku TVs.