Roku, Inc.

Roku, Inc. (/ˈroʊkuː/ ROH-koo)[2] is an American company that manufactures and sells digital media players for video streaming, smart TVs, and other consumer electronics. It also operates an ad-supported video on demand service,[3][4][5] and an advertising business which sells ad space and licenses software to other companies.[6][7] Roku is based in San Jose, California.

For the online media player produced by this company, see Roku.
Roku, Inc.
TypePublic
Industry
FoundedOctober 2002 (2002-10)
FounderAnthony Wood
HeadquartersSan Jose, California, U.S.
Key people
  • Anthony Wood
  • (Chairman, CEO)
ProductsRoku: Roku Express, Roku Express+, Roku Ultra, Roku Streaming Stick, Roku TV, Roku OS
RevenueIncrease US$3.13 billion (2022)
Decrease US$−531 million (2022)
Decrease US$−498 million (2022)
Total assetsIncrease US$4.41 billion (2022)
Total equityDecrease US$2.65 billion (2022)
Number of employees
c. 3,600 (2022)
Divisions
  • Player
  • Platform
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.roku.com
Footnotes / references
[1]
Former headquarters in Los Gatos (subleased from Netflix)

History

Roku was founded in October 2002 as a limited liability company (LLC),[8] by ReplayTV founder Anthony Wood. Roku (六) means "six" in the Japanese language, to represent the fact that Roku is the sixth company Wood started.[9]

In April 2007 Wood was named a vice president of Netflix.[10] After Netflix decided to not build its own player, a new Roku company was incorporated in February 2008, based in Palo Alto, California, with Netflix as an investor of $6 million, to build a player.[11][12] Later in 2008 company headquarters moved to Saratoga, California, further south in Silicon Valley.[13] A round of venture capital funding from Menlo Ventures was announced in October 2008.[14] Another round of about $8.4 million was disclosed in 2009.[15][16] In 2015, the company announced it would be sub-leasing the buildings in Los Gatos, California from Netflix.[17]

On September 28, 2017, the company held an initial public offering of stock and began trading on the Nasdaq exchange.[18]

In 2017, Roku launched its self-serving advertising product to allow advertisers to serve ads to Roku's users. These include video ads, interactive video ads, audience development promotions and brand sponsorships.[19] This was made possible through Roku allowing advertisers to transition from standard cable TV advertising to Roku's streaming platform.[20] In 2016, Roku partnered with Magna, a media firm that specializes advertising, in order to incorporate targeted advertising on its streaming platform.[21] In order to measure the success of its advertising efforts success, Roku partnered with Nielsen, a company that specializes in advertising effectiveness.[22] In November 2019, Roku announced its acquisition of dataxu video advertising platform, for $150 million in cash and stocks. Roku shares rose more than two percent subsequent to the announcement.[23]

In July 2019 Roku started moving to a new headquarters in San Jose, with plans to vacate offices subleased from Netflix.[24]

On January 8, 2021, Roku announced it would acquire rights to Quibi's content, for an amount less than $100 million,[25] and that all of Quibi's 75 programs would be available on their streaming platform, The Roku Channel.[26]

On March 19, 2021, TZP Growth Partners completed the sale of This Old House Ventures to Roku. All 1,500 episodes of Ask This Old House and This Old House will be made available to owners of Roku streaming products free with ads and through their dedicated 24/7 Streaming TV channel.[27] PBS will still have rights to air episodes on their platforms.

Legacy products

Roku's consumer products included:

  • PhotoBridge HD1000, a system for displaying images on a high-definition television, as well as streaming MPEG video. The unit has four card readers on the front and can read from a CompactFlash Card type II, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, or SmartMedia Card[28]
  • Roku SoundBridge, a network music player[29]
  • SoundBridge Radio, a network music player with built-in speakers and subwoofer, AM‑FM receiver, volume-ramping alarm clock, preset buttons, SD slot, and headphone jack[30]

For retailers, Roku also produced:

  • BrightSign solid-state media player, designed to drive HD displays in a retail environment.[31]

Roku's audio products did not use internal storage but relied on Wi-Fi or Ethernet to stream digital audio over a network, either from Internet radio or a computer attached to the same network.[32][33] Roku introduced the Radio Roku Internet radio directory in August 2007; Radio Roku provides a directory of Internet stations, accessible from a web browser or from SoundBridge players.

Roku streaming players
The XD/S has HDMI and component output for high-definition video on new and older televisions.
Main article: Roku

Roku produces numerous set-top boxes for delivery of over-the-top content. Content is provided by Roku partners, identified using the "channel" vernacular. Each separate channel supports content from one partner, although some content partners have more than one channel. In May 2011, Roku stated the Streaming Players had over one million viewers and had delivered 15 million channel downloads.

Roku devices support both on-demand content and live streaming. For live TV streams, Roku supports Apple HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) adaptive streaming technology. Both free and paid "channels" are available, as are some games. Roku Streaming Players are open-platform devices with a freely available SDK that enables anyone to create new channels.[34] The channels are written in a Roku-specific language called BrightScript, a scripting language the company calls "similar to Visual Basic".[35]

The Roku Channel
Main article: The Roku Channel

Roku launched its own free, ad-supported streaming channel on its devices in October 2017. At launch it included licensed content from studios such as Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros., Disney, and Universal Pictures, as well as from The Roku Channel content publishers American Classics, FilmRise, Nosey, OVGuide, Popcornflix, Vidmark, and YuYu. It implemented an ad revenue sharing model with content providers. On August 8, 2018, The Roku Channel became available on web as well.[36] Roku also added the "Featured Free" section as the top section of its main menu from where users can get access to direct streaming of shows and movies from its partners.[37] On April 7, 2020, The Roku Channel launched in the UK, with a different selection of movies and TV shows.[38]

Roku TV

Roku licenses its technology and proprietary operating system (Roku OS) to service operators including Sky and Telstra, and television manufacturers and distributors such as TCL and Philips.[39] Roku announced its first branded smart TV in early 2014 and it was released in late 2014. These TVs are manufactured by companies like TCL and Hisense, and use the Roku user interface as the "brain" of the TV. Roku TVs are updated in the same way as Roku's streaming devices, though on a slightly modified schedule due to the extra features and picture/audio adjustment options the Roku TV menu interface must support.[40]

Several manufacturers offer added features for over-the-air reception for added cord-cutter value, including extended electronic program guides which provide more information than regularly sent by the PSIP protocol, and over-the-air program search integrated into the Roku search system. Also offered are program buffers and pausing with the use of a 16GB+ USB flash drive.

References
  1. "Roku Inc. 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 16 February 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  2. Ogden, Jon (April 26, 2007). "Re: 'Rock You' or 'Row Coo'". Roku Forums. Roku, Inc. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  3. "Mercury News". Mercury News, Inc. July 10, 2019. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  4. Haggin, Patience (2023-01-04). "Roku Becomes Latest Streaming Giant to Launch Its Own Smart-TV Line". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  5. Crist, Ry (2022-10-12). "Roku Unveils a Full Lineup of Smart Home Devices". CNET. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  6. Haselton, Todd (2019-01-02). "Roku just unveiled new streaming TV changes that sound a lot like what Apple is planning". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  7. Keck, Catie (2021-10-29). "Roku launches new personal-use developer kit". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  8. "Form D: Notice of Sale of Securities" (PDF). US Securities and Exchange Commission. January 18, 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  9. Stevens, Cindy Loffler (December 5, 2012). "Roku's Anthony Wood". Consumer Electronics Association. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  10. "Netflix Appoints Anthony Wood, who Founded and led ReplayTV, As V.P. of Internet TV". Press release. April 16, 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  11. "Form D: Notice of Sale of Securities" (PDF). US Securities and Exchange Commission. February 26, 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  12. JP Mangalindan (November 1, 2012). "Roku's Anthony Wood looks beyond the box". Fortune. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  13. Khalida Sarwari (May 21, 2014). "Saratoga: Streaming dream comes true for Roku, Inc". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  14. Khalida Sarwari (October 28, 2008). "Roku gets funding from Menlo Ventures". San Jose Business Journal. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  15. Tameka Kee (August 10, 2009). "Roku Adds $8.4 Million In Funding From Menlo Ventures". GigaOm. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  16. "Form D: Notice of Sale of Securities". US Securities and Exchange Commission. June 4, 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  17. Nathan Donato-Weinstein (September 4, 2015). "Roku, Saratoga's biggest brand, heads to Los Gatos in deal with Netflix". San Jose Business Journal. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  18. Salinas, Anita Balakrishnan, Sara (28 September 2017). "Roku closes up 67% on first day of trading". CNBC. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. Poggi, Jeanine (3 April 2017). "Roku Offers Audience Guarantees to Advertisers". AdAge. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  20. "Roku Is Building a Bridge for TV Advertisers With Nielsen's Audience Guarantees". Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  21. "Magna Strikes Deal With Roku, Shifting More Ad Dollars Out Of Linear TV Heading Into Upfronts". 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  22. Spangler, Todd (30 April 2015). "Nielsen to Measure Roku Connected-TV Video Ads". Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  23. Graham, Megan (October 22, 2019). "Roku is buying ad tech company dataxu in $150 million deal". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  24. Avalos, George (July 11, 2019). "Roku starts move into modern San Jose headquarters campus". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  25. Mullin, Benjamin (8 January 2021). "Roku Acquires Rights to Quibi's Content". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  26. Spangler, Todd (January 8, 2021). "Roku Acquires Global Rights to 75-Plus Quibi Shows, Will Stream Them for Free". Variety. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  27. Spangler, Todd (March 19, 2021). "Roku Acquires 'This Old House' Business, Including 1,500-Episode Library". Variety. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  28. Howard, Bill (January 11, 2005). "Roku PhotoBridge HD1000". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
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  30. "Roku SoundBridge Radio review". CNET. CBS Interactive. March 22, 2006. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  31. "Roku Announces BrightSign High-Definition Solid State Media Player" (PDF) (Press release). Anaheim, California: BrightSign. June 19, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  32. Greenhill, Larry (May 13, 2007). "Roku SoundBridge M1001 network music player". Stereophile. Source Interlink Media. Archived from the original on March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  33. Frakes, Dan (April 28, 2006). "Review: Roku SoundBridge Radio". Macworld. IDG Consumer & SMB. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  34. Gruenwedel, Erik (November 23, 2009). "Roku Bows Online Store". Home Media Magazine. Questex Media. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  35. "Developers". Roku, Inc. March 29, 2014. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
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  37. "Roku's free streaming service is now available on the web". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  38. Goren, Or (2020-04-07). ""The Roku Channel" Goes Live In The UK: Free Movies And TV". Cord Busters. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  39. "Form S-1". www.sec.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  40. Roku TV is the first Smart TV worth using Archived 2020-10-25 at the Wayback Machine Wired, January 6, 2014
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