Industry observers note that fox is planning to acquire Roku for $22 billion, and a lot of folks are already preparing for the worst.
As part of the ongoing story, meanwhile, a couple of the top posts on the cord cutting sub-Reddit include a headline calling it a “disaster” for streaming and a thread discussing what to use instead. I’ve already received a half-dozen questions from readers about Roku alternatives to consider.
As part of the ongoing story, i can help you consider some Roku alternatives, but you should also be realistic about what switching will accomplish. While these mergers seldom work in consumers’ favor, there’s also a lot of hyperbole going around about what will happen next.
Industry observers note that roku is the most widely used streaming ecosystem in the United States, and it‘s in 100 million homes worldwide. The publisher makes most of its money not from selling smart TVs and streaming users, but from getting those users to watch ads and pay for more subscriptions. Accordingly, Fox wants to use Roku‘s reach to scale up its own advertising business and to help grow its subscription services. Fox‘s reasons for acquiring Roku are largely about scale.
According to the latest update, if you’re a Roku user, you can expect a couple things to happen as a result:.
As part of the ongoing story, we don’t know how Roku’s Howdy and Frndly TV subscription services will factor into Fox’s plans, nor do we know the long-term fates of the Roku Channel and Fox‘s Tubi. (It’s hard to believe the two free streaming services will stay separate forever, though Fox says it will keep them that way for now.). For now, any other supposed fallout you’re seeing in articles or on social media is pure speculation.
As part of the ongoing story, whether you want to support Fox’s business is your decision, but the idea that Roku might turn into some right-wing propaganda ecosystem seems overblown. At most, you might see more promotion of Fox properties (including Fox News and Fox Nation) on Roku’s home screen, but Roku should also understand when to back off, given that the whole point of the deal is to better understand users’ preferences. I’ve also seen some anxiety around Fox Corporation’s political affiliations and its ownership of Fox News.
Industry observers note that it’ll be a while before Fox gets to influence Roku’s business in any major way. In any case, the acquisition hasn’t actually happened yet, and the firms don’t expect to close the deal until the first half of 2027.
The report highlights that just keep in mind that the main things Roku and Fox are promising to do—amp up ad targeting and self-promote more of their own content—aren’t markedly different from what other streaming services are doing already. To wit:. If the prospect of Fox owning Roku still makes you want to jump ship, that’s understandable.
In a fresh development, the ecosystem puts a big emphasis on Alexa voice controls and more recently on AI functions, like one that lets you jump to a scene by describing it. Amazon remains a major Roku rival, with lots of low-cost Fire TV devices to choose from.
The report highlights that the home screen is plastered with Amazon content recommendations, along with banner ads for things like car insurance and home appliances. And unlike with Roku, you can’t fine-tune the interface to work more in your favor. But if you’re hoping to escape an excess of self-promotion on Roku devices, Amazon’s ecosystem is even worse in that regard.
According to the latest update, (Also, if your concern with Roku involves an uptick in right-wing propaganda, remember that Amazon is the one that bankrolled Melania.).
In a fresh development, while its home screen isn’t as simple, Google doesn’t go overboard with recommendations from YouTube or its movie store. You can also customize its home screen suggestions so they mostly stick to the streaming services you actually have. (Or, you can replace the default Google TV home screen outright.). Google TV would be a natural landing point for anyone looking to leave the Roku ecosystem.
As part of the ongoing story, google is of course a giant of targeted advertising already, and if you use Google search, the publisher already has unmatched insight on what you’re into. Just don’t expect Google’s ad targeting to be any less invasive than a combined Fox and Roku.
According to the latest update, google effectively handed the job of producing lower-cost streaming devices to Walmart, which is failing to keep the good ones in stock. Another problem: There aren’t many Google TV devices to choose from right now beyond the $100 Google TV Streamer.
Industry observers note that yes, the default home screen leans heavily into promoting Apple TV content, but savvy streamers know how to customize it so it displays your favorite apps and in-progress shows instead, with no banner ads or promotional tiles in sight. Among all the Roku alternatives to consider, Apple TV is to me the least ethically compromised.
In a fresh development, you can even enable a setting to deny that permission by default. Meanwhile, Apple TV is the only streaming ecosystem that makes firms ask for permission to track your activity across apps.
Industry observers note that an Apple TV 4K box costs $129, more than triple the price of a Roku Streaming Stick Plus or Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select. The catch, of course, is the price.
Industry observers note that this is hardly the first streaming media megamerger we’ve gone through, and they invariably lead to broken promises, higher prices, reduced content, and more ads. From what I’ve seen so far, the fears around Fox and Roku are less about the particulars of the acquisition and more about general anxiety with technology and the state of streaming TV.
As part of the ongoing story, being aware of the alternatives is always worthwhile, but the sad reality is that the show always ends the same way. So it’s no surprise that everyone’s bracing for a rerun.
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According to the latest update, his Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter has more than 30,000 subscribers, and his Advisorator tech advice newsletter is read by nearly 10,000 people each week. Jared has a master's degree in journalism from NYU and specializes in making complex tech topics easy to understand, from streaming and cord-cutting to neat apps and useful tech tricks. He is based in Cincinnati, OH. Jared has been a freelance technology journalist for more than 15 years and is a regular contributor to PCWorld, Fast Organization, and TechHive, where he's written a weekly cord-cutting column since 2014.