This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for noti.group subscribers once a week.
When Fox announced its acquisition of Roku earlier this week, executives of both companies were quick to promise that not much would change in the near future. Sure, getting its hands on Roku will help Fox become a major force in streaming, and surpass the viewership of Netflix in the United States when you include Fox’s TV networks. But Roku will remain open to all streaming services, and Fox will keep selling its programming to anyone, they pledged.
Of course, that doesn’t mean everything will stay the same. I expect that the deal will have a significant impact on both companies, and that Roku owners will see major changes once it closes. Here’s what I believe is in store for Roku’s future:
The Roku Channel will become a Roku exclusive
One of the questions analysts had on a joint Fox and Roku investor call earlier this week was: What does this deal mean for the future of Tubi and The Roku Channel, the ad-supported streaming services operated by the two companies? The diplomatic answer: The services are complementary, with Tubi mostly serving up movies and TV shows on demand while The Roku Channel has a lot more eyeballs on free, ad-supported streaming channels (also known among industry insiders as FAST channels).
That’s true, to a degree. Tubi’s leadership initially didn’t believe in the potential of linear channels and instead put a greater emphasis on being a free Netflix alternative. Roku, on the other hand, had its software deeply embedded in smart TVs and knew that it could build a replacement for the cable guide if it went all in on linear streaming channels.
At the same time, Tubi and The Roku Channel do squarely compete with each other on third-party platforms like Fire TV, Google TV, and Samsung, where consumers can download either app to access free programming. Roku expanded onto those platforms a few years ago, but that expansion has been an ongoing cause of confusion for consumers. Many simply can’t understand why the Roku app they downloaded onto their Samsung TV or Fire TV doesn’t offer them the exact same experience as a Roku device.
Another cause of frustration: Roku offers owners of its devices the ability to subscribe to third-party services like HBO Max and Paramount Plus through The Roku Channel. But if they fire up The Roku Channel’s app on the Samsung TV in their bedroom, those paid subscriptions are MIA.
To simplify all that, I predict that Fox will opt to make The Roku Channel a Roku exclusive, and bet on Tubi as the sole app for ad-supported viewing on third-party devices.
Roku will abandon its IoT efforts
Over the years, Roku has tried many things to launch an ecosystem of devices around its platform. There was that streaming-optimized mesh router that never launched, and the smart speakers that have been sidelined in recent years.
More recently, Roku has bet aggressively on low-cost cameras, lightbulbs, and alarm systems. All of that made sense when the company was trying to go it alone and compete with the likes of Google and Amazon. The fear was that consumers may choose competing products if they couldn’t access their security camera feed on their Roku TV.
For Fox, IoT is little more than a distraction. The margins of these products are just too low, and there’s easier ways to get people to watch more Fox programming than launching yet another smart plug. That’s why I predict that Roku will phase out its IoT products and instead embrace the Matter standard to more easily work with third-party hardware.
Howdy will become an unexpected hit
Fox has been a bit of an outlier in the streaming wars. Companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery spent tens of billions of dollars to build paid streaming services to catch up with Netflix. The Murdoch empire instead waited on the sidelines and bet on Tubi as a free streaming alternative.
Fox Nation aside, the company’s first real paid streaming service has been Fox One, the sports streamer that launched less than a year ago. That wait-and-see approach is very similar to Roku, which long emphasized ad-supported streaming over paid subscriptions. The first paid service Roku built in-house is Howdy, a low-cost streamer catering to budget-conscious consumers.
At $2.99 per month, Howdy is unlikely to become a major moneymaker for Fox. However, I predict that Fox may treat Howdy as a bit of a wild card bet: one more way to monetize its content and a good opportunity to needle and undercut the competition. With that strategy, and with access to Fox’s massive back catalog of popular TV shows, I predict Howdy may turn into an unexpected hit with consumers wary of too many ads.
Roku will double down on international expansion
Fox gave up on some of its international ambitions when it sold its stake in Sky to Comcast in 2018 and shed more assets abroad when Disney bought 21st Century Fox the following year.
Since then, Fox has made some efforts to expand abroad again with Tubi, which is now available in Canada, Australia, and Latin America. Those happen to be the very markets that Roku has also been targeting for its own international expansion, with some success: Roku claims to be the number one streaming platform in Canada and Mexico, and its hardware partners are now selling Roku-branded TVs in over 15 countries.
However, at its core, Roku, like Fox, is still a US-centric business. In its 2025 annual report, the company disclosed that over 90 percent of its devices revenue still comes from the United States. The same is true for advertising and services revenue, with the report stating that “we currently generate the vast majority of our revenue in the United States.”
Roku has been cautious to ramp up international expansion, especially in Europe, where Amazon has a much stronger foothold with Fire TV, to keep costs in check. With Fox’s support, I expect more aggressive moves into foreign markets along with Tubi. Both Roku and Tubi can help build scale for Fox’s streaming efforts. Fox can cash in on those efforts once it has millions of consumers hooked on free programming and affordable TVs.
Sports will be front and center on Roku
It’s hard to ignore the Fox One sports streaming service these days, especially if you’re trying to keep up with the World Cup. I expect Fox to double down on that momentum and tightly integrate Fox One with Roku. This doesn’t mean that Fox One will become a Roku exclusive. Instead, you’ll find sports programming, and deep links to the sports streaming service, everywhere, including Roku’s newly redesigned homescreen and its Sports Zones.
In other words: Don’t be surprised to see Fox build a stadium in Roku City.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
