Depending on who you ask, Roku is in position to be acquired by a larger company or to be a bidder for major studio in 2022.
Hub Reseach’s Peter Fondulas predicts that a major player like Apple could buy Roku and help facilitate the company’s expansion to the international market while simultaneously giving Apple TV+ a leg up by offering consumers a lower-priced alternative to the Apple TV box.
“Roku’s efforts to catch up to competitors internationally would get a significant boost by partnering with a company already well established outside the US. At the same time, a company looking to expand its advertising business would benefit from Roku’s robust data collection tools,” said Fondulas.
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A Wall Street Journal report from earlier this year suggested that Comcast is potentially interested in buying Roku as a means of accelerating its streaming video strategy. However, the official launch of Comcast’s new XClass smart TVs, which run a version of the company’s X1 pay TV platform, seem to suggest that Comcast is going with a build it instead of buy it strategy.
CNBC’s Alex Sherman recently published a handful of industry predictions from anonymous media executives and at the top of the list was a prognostication about Roku buying Lionsgate film and TV studio. Lionsgate is looking into spinning off Starz, its premium linear and streaming channel, and Roku could be a logical choice to pick up the studio so it could expand its library, produce more original content and, in turn, grab a bigger piece of the streaming video market.
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Of course, it’s possible that Roku won’t engage in any earth-shaking M&A in 2022 and instead just stay focused on its current strategy that still has the company well positioned to capitalize on growth in both AVOD and SVOD consumption.
Through the Roku Channel, the company has seen accelerated ad revenue growth within its platform business and Kristina Shepard, head of agency partnership and national brand team lead at Roku, expects more marketers will follow viewers toward streaming next year.
“This year represented a tipping point. TV streaming became as mainstream for marketers as it has been for consumers -- one in three American homes no longer have traditional pay TV. In 2022, marketers will accelerate into the streaming decade with new ad experiences to surprise and delight beyond the traditional TV spot, new activation strategies tied in direct consumer relationships, and new measurement tied to true business outcomes,” she said.