Plano, Texas – September 13, 2026 -- Fox Corporation's planned $22 billion acquisition of Roku underscores the strategic value of controlling the platform layer that connects viewers, content, and advertisers, according to new data from Parks Associates.
Roku dominates US streaming hardware with 43% device share
Parks Associates' Tech Ecosystem Dashboard, based on surveys of more than 8,000 US internet households, found 43% report a Roku device as their most-used streaming media player. Among smart TV owners, 17% said their primary TV runs on Roku OS.
Fox deal would combine premium content with Roku's 100 million-household reach
Fox reports that Roku reaches more than 100 million streaming households globally. The acquisition would pair Fox's live sports and news programming and its Tubi service with Roku's operating system, The Roku Channel, Frndly TV, Howdy, advertising infrastructure, and first-party viewer data.
"Roku's strength is its reach across the connected TV experience," said Michael Goodman, Research Director at Parks Associates. "Its position across smart TVs and streaming media players gives the platform influence that extends beyond any single hardware brand."
Combined entity would control two of the top free ad-supported streaming services
Tubi and The Roku Channel rank among Parks Associates' Top Ten US FAST Services, alongside Pluto TV, Samsung TV+, Xumo Play, LG Channels, VIX, Local Now, WatchFree+ and Sling Freestream. Ownership of both platforms would give the merged company expanded control over ad-supported content discovery and monetization.
Goodman said competition in video now centers on who owns the viewer relationship rather than content alone. "The platform determines how consumers discover that content and how providers engage and monetize audiences," he said, adding that the Fox-Roku combination would expand opportunities for viewer data, advertising, and distribution control.
Parks Associates to detail streaming competition data in September webinar
Parks Associates will host an industry webinar, "Streaming Video: Churn, Loyalty, and Competition," on September 24, drawing on findings from its Streaming Video Tracker service, which monitors subscriber counts, content, revenues, and strategies of streaming video providers across North America. The firm will also convene its Future of Video: Business of Streaming conference on November 17-18 in Marina del Rey, California, addressing OTT strategy, pay-TV provider challenges, and connected CE trends shaping the video market.