Topline
Fox Corporation on Monday announced it reached an agreement to buy the streaming service Roku for $22 billion, expanding Fox’s streaming portfolio in a transaction the companies said would create the “third-largest player in U.S. television.”
The tie-up will create the “third-largest player in U.S. television,” the companies said.
Associated Press
Key Facts
Fox said it would acquire Roku for $160 per share in a deal the companies expect to include $400 million in savings.
Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of billionaire Rupert Murdoch, called the deal a “defining moment” for Fox that brings “together the most valuable live content portfolio and video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it.”
Paolo Pescator, an analyst for PP Foresight, told Reuters the transaction gives Fox “greater control over discovery, data and monetization” as TV viewing shifts to streaming.
Roku shareholders will receive $96 in cash and roughly 0.97 Fox Class A shares for each Roku share held, and Fox shareholders will own about 73% of the combined company after closing, the companies said.
Shares of Fox plunged by more than 11% in premarket trading, while Roku traded up slightly (0.8%).
forbes valuation
Rupert Murdoch—who stepped down as chairman of his Fox Corporation in September 2023—and his family have a fortune valued at $23.3 billion, according to Forbes’ estimates. Anthony Wood, who founded Roku in 2002, has an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion.
key background
A deal for Roku marks the first major acquisition since Lachlan Murdoch assumed Rupert Murdoch’s board seat in 2023. Fox, like other media giants, has shifted toward streaming in recent years: The company announced in 2020 it would buy the ad-supported streaming service Tubi for $440 million. In 2025, it launched the subscription livestreaming service Fox One, on which the FIFA World Cup has been forecast in recent days. Tubi reached profitability for the first time last year, announcing in July it reached more than 100 million monthly active users and 1 billion hours of streamed content per month. Netflix, in comparison, reported more than 300 million subscribers as of late 2024.