Roku is touting the continued growth of its Roku TV licensing program with new models on the way from smart TV partners including TCL, Hisense, InFocus, Polaroid and Walmart’s ATVIO.
The company announced that 15 TV brands will launch Roku TV models in Canada, Mexico, the United States and the United Kingdom in 2020. InFocus, Polaroid and Walmart’s ATVIO will sell Roku TV models in Mexico, and existing partner brand Westinghouse will extend their Roku TV offerings to the country. TCL and Hisense will expand their Roku TV offerings with new Roku TV models launching later in the year.
In November, Roku manufacturing partners began offering Roku smart TVs in Europe. In the U.S., Roku’s smart TV platform is already thriving.
“2019 was a tremendous year for Roku TV, with more brands, retailers and consumers choosing the platform than ever before,” said Mustafa Ozgen, senior vice president and general manager of account acquisition at Roku, in a statement. “We believe that Roku TV represented more than one in three smart TVs sold in the U.S. during the first nine months of 2019, and the number of our licensees keeps growing.”
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As it expands its smart TV partner program, Roku is also rolling out a certification program to make it easier for consumers to set up audio equipment with their Roku devices. The Roku TV Ready program is geared toward offering easier setup for soundbars and receivers along with on-screen access to sound settings and volume control with one remote.
The first partners for the program include TCL North America and Sound United – parent company to Denon, Polk Audio, Marantz, Definitive Technology and Classé – which will feature Roku TV Ready products for select brands later this year.
“Our goal is to make the TV experience incredibly simple, accessible and fun. Roku devices continue to delight millions of consumers for these reasons. And now with this new program we hope to make it super easy to setup and control soundbars and audio/video receivers using just a Roku TV remote,” said Mark Ely, vice president of retail product strategy at Roku, in a statement. “Meanwhile, consumer electronics brands benefit by offering their products in a more appealing way to our large and engaged audience of millions of active accounts.”