Fox Acquires Roku in $22 Billion Deal to Build a Streaming and TV Powerhouse

Inside Fox's $22 Billion Acquisition of Roku

Fox has confirmed it is buying streaming company Roku in a stock and cash transaction worth roughly $22 billion. The company is framing the move as the creation of a media and technology business built around two forces that are reshaping how people watch video: the enduring pull of live sports and news, and the steady migration of audiences toward streaming.

By Fox's own account, the combination would stand as the third-largest television company in the United States. The deal brings together Fox's news and sports channels and its free, ad-supported streaming service Tubi with Roku's connected TV platform, pairing established programming strength with a large distribution layer that reaches viewers directly through their televisions.

What the Deal Means for Connected TV and Advertising

The strategic logic centers on connected TV, the high-growth corner of the market where streaming subscriptions and digital advertising intersect. Fox describes the acquisition as a wider entry into that space, giving it a stronger position in both ad-supported streaming and subscription services.

A central asset in the transaction is Roku's reach. The platform puts Fox in front of an audience of roughly 100 million households, an installed base that the company expects to use to target advertising more precisely and to depend less on traditional methods of delivering content. Fox argues that the merger delivers significant audience scale across both linear television and streaming, letting it meet viewers wherever they choose to watch rather than betting on a single channel of distribution.

Pairing Fox's Live Programming With Roku's Platform

The appeal of the combination rests on how the two businesses complement each other. Fox brings programming that audiences still gather to watch in real time, particularly live sports and news, categories that have proven resilient even as on-demand viewing has surged. Roku brings the platform layer: the connected TV operating system and the household relationships that turn programming into reach.

Tubi adds a third dimension. As a free, ad-supported streaming service, it slots naturally into a connected TV strategy that prioritizes advertising revenue and broad availability. Folding Tubi's catalog and ad model into Roku's distribution gives the combined company multiple ways to monetize the same audience, whether through subscriptions, advertising, or free programming supported by ads.

How the Acquisition Fits Fox's Streaming Push

The Roku deal is the latest step in a streaming strategy that Fox has been assembling over several years. The company moved deeper into streaming in 2020 when it bought Tubi for $440 million, a purchase made during an intensely competitive stretch in the live streaming industry. More recently, Fox introduced Fox One, its direct-to-consumer streaming service, signaling its intent to reach viewers without relying on intermediaries.

Acquiring Roku extends that trajectory by adding a platform Fox previously distributed through rather than owned. Instead of placing its content on someone else's connected TV system, Fox would control the operating layer that connects programming to households, tightening the link between what it produces and how audiences access it.

What Fox and Roku Leadership Said

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch characterized the acquisition as a defining moment for the company. He said the combination would push Fox into high-growth verticals and produce a meaningful shift in its overall growth profile. He credited Roku with pioneering streaming television and building it into a leading connected TV platform, and said the two companies intend to lead the next phase of that story together.

Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood expressed pride in what his team has built and described the tie-up with Fox as an opportunity to accelerate Roku's vision, scale more quickly, and innovate more aggressively on behalf of viewers, partners, and advertisers. He said he was enthusiastic about what the combined company could achieve.

Deal Terms, Timeline, and Financing

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Fox and Roku. Fox expects the deal to close in the first half of 2027, putting a multi-quarter timeline on the integration of the two businesses.

To fund the acquisition, Fox said it secured a $12 billion loan, underscoring the scale of the commitment behind the roughly $22 billion stock and cash structure.