Fox closes its $22 billion Roku purchase ahead of schedule

Fox now owns Roku. The $22 billion deal closed well before the companies said it would, and it puts Roku, which was founded in 2002, in Fox's hands.

Timeline from June to closing

The deal was announced in June with completion projected for the first half of 2027.

Two months before closing, the Justice Department issued a second request for information. A second request is a formal step in which regulators ask the companies for further material before they decide. Here, the department wanted more paperwork from both sides for its antitrust review. Reports earlier this month pointed to a deal close to winning sign-off from U.S. regulators.

What Fox expects from Roku

Roku reaches more than 100 million households. Fox expects that audience to sharpen its advertising targeting. It also wants to gain ground in connected TV, meaning TV viewing that runs over an internet connection. The market is fast-growing, and Fox hopes to depend less on traditional TV distribution.

Fox says that, together with Roku, it is now the third-biggest TV company in the country when measured by viewers.

Wood on what stays the same

Founder Anthony Wood said in a statement that the mission of giving people a better way to watch TV stays the same, but "what does change is our reach and resources." He added that the teams will keep building as they always have, with Fox behind them.

The TechCrunch report does not say what Fox plans to change for Roku users, if anything.

Source: TechCrunch