Surprise! Fox Corp. has closed its acquisition of streaming platform Roku, a deal valued at $22 billion, well ahead of the expected 2027 date.
\n\nRoku founder and CEO Anthony Wood will join the Fox board of directors. He will serve as co-chair, Fox Digital Platforms, a newly formed division that includes Roku, Tubi, Fox One, Red Seat Ventures and other digital products and services across the company, alongside Paul Cheesbrough, who assumes the role of co-chair and CEO of the division.
\n\n“The closing of this acquisition advances the long-term strategy of Fox,” Lachlan Murdoch, executive chair and CEO of Fox Corp., said in a statement Friday.
\n\nFox Corp. emphasized its position that it will preserve Roku “as a leading open ecosystem for the broader streaming industry.” That means that, say, it won’t give advantageous positioning to Fox News or the Fox One streaming package on Roku, which has a customer base of more than 100 million households.
\n\n“Beginning today, our top priority for the combined company is to continue to relentlessly serve audiences and partners, while reinforcing the openness and choice that is the essence of the Roku platform,” Murdoch said. “Our shared entrepreneurial passion and clear conviction toward building…
Original source: https://variety.com/v/tv/