Recently, streaming company Roku, whose software operates one in three smart TVs in the United States, announced it is turning to the British market. This is after its rival Silicon Valley giant Amazon goes international.
In a news report, Roku’s founder and chief executive Anthony Wood indicated that the Chinese manufacturer Hisense would market its televisions with Roku TV in the United Kingdom.
The collaboration of Roku T.V. and Hisense will happen from the fourth quarter.
Moreover, it will be along with other European markets to follow.
Roku started out offering players for services like Netflix. This is part of their branching into licensing its operational system.
In 2017, the company floated, and its shares have since risen more than tenfold. This was after it increased to reach 30.5 million U.S. households.
The struck licensing deals with nearly a dozen T.V. producers has served as an aggregator for more than 7,000 channels.
In the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin, Wood stated, “we’re the leader by a wide margin in the U.S., and we’re just starting to get serious about international markets.”
He also added the Hisense agreement in the U.K. “is a steppingstone to the rest of Europe.”
Alexa: A Virtual Assistant
Meanwhile, in Europe, Roku faces the influence of Amazon. The company has revealed a series of deals to the IFA which will bring its Fire T.V. platform to living rooms. It will be partnering with Grundig, JVC, and Toshiba.
One of the Grundig models will operate on Alexa. This is Amazon’s digital voice assistant, making it possible to proceed with remote control.
In addition, Alexa is alternative select programming by ‘talking’ to the T.V.
Elsewhere, some of the high-end T.V. makers like Samsung still manage their own operating systems.
But for the mid-range flat screens, a platform contest between Roku and Amazon is evolving.
This competition echoes the David-and-Goliath clash in music streaming between Spotify and Apple.
Tech and media analyst Paolo Pescatore indicated there was no assurance that Roku’s platform would succeed on the international stage. This is because there are further aspects to stream T.V. in a progressively mobile world.
Pescatore indicated, “Roku is at a crossroads,” he also added, “if you want to watch YouTube or Netflix, you just need a device.”
Focusing on the Content
Roku T.V. has discovered aggregation deals with a listing of content providers. This is with the help of its control of the user interface. Content providers include new arrivals Apple+ and Disney+.
It is also producing more money from its digital advertising.
Marketers shift budgets from commercial T.V. to streaming. This signifies the cord-cutting trend among viewers.
In the second quarter, revenues rose by 59% to $250 million at Roku. These roughly broke even at the bottom line. This year, the company projects revenues of just over $1 billion.
Roku is now aggregating more than 7,000 channels. Moreover, it is advocating its own Roku Channel that suggests a recommendation engine.
This will help viewers filter the huge amount of programming on a deal to find what they want to watch.
In a statement, Wood indicated, “our goal is to be the leading streaming platform for households.”
The statement is in regard to seeing a future in which there will be a little mega-streaming app, like Disney, and much other content will be syndicated into the platforms directly.
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