In one of the most consequential media deals since Disney acquired much of 21st Century Fox in 2019, Fox Corp. is making a bold play for the future of television.

The company announced Monday that it will acquire streaming platform Roku in a $22 billion cash-and-stock transaction, a move that instantly transforms Fox from a content company with growing streaming ambitions into a major owner of the technology and infrastructure that increasingly determines how audiences watch television.

If approved, the deal will combine Fox’s portfolio of live sports, news and entertainment assets — including Fox News, Fox Sports, Tubi and Fox One — with Roku’s connected-TV platform, which reaches more than 100 million streaming households worldwide.

For Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch, the acquisition represents the next phase of a strategy that began after Disney’s acquisition of much of the former 21st Century Fox empire left the company with a narrower focus on live programming.

“This is a defining moment for Fox,” Murdoch said in announcing the transaction. “The acquisition of Roku will bring together the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it.”

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

From Content Provider to Platform Owner

For years, media companies have battled to secure a direct relationship with consumers as traditional cable subscriptions continue to decline. While studios and networks raced to launch streaming services, another battle was unfolding behind the scenes: control of the television operating systems and connected-TV platforms that serve as the gateway to streaming entertainment.

Roku emerged as one of the biggest winners of that shift.

Founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood, Roku evolved from an early streaming device manufacturer into one of the dominant operating systems powering smart televisions and streaming devices across North America. The company also built a substantial advertising business and expanded The Roku Channel into one of the largest free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services in the market.

For Fox, acquiring Roku provides something it has never had before: ownership of the digital front door to millions of viewers.

The transaction places Fox into more direct competition with companies such as Comcast, Amazon, Google and Apple, all of which have invested heavily in controlling the software and hardware ecosystems through which consumers access streaming content.

The Next Evolution of Tubi

The acquisition also dramatically expands Fox’s streaming footprint.

Fox’s $440 million acquisition of Tubi in 2020 was initially viewed as a relatively modest streaming investment compared with the multibillion-dollar direct-to-consumer spending of rivals. But Tubi has since become one of the fastest-growing free streaming services in the industry, surpassing 100 million monthly active users.

Pairing Tubi with Roku creates a significantly larger advertising and distribution ecosystem, giving Fox greater scale as advertisers continue shifting budgets toward connected television.

Industry analysts have long viewed scale as one of the most important competitive advantages in the streaming advertising business, where companies like Netflix, Amazon and YouTube have rapidly expanded their presence.

The combined company is expected to become the third-largest player in U.S. television by share of viewing, according to Fox.

A New Chapter for Roku

Roku enters the transaction from a position of relative strength.

After years of prioritizing growth over profitability, the company reported its first full-year profit in 2025, generating net income of $88.4 million on revenue of $4.74 billion. Roku also maintains a debt-free balance sheet with approximately $1.65 billion in cash and equivalents.

Wood will remain involved with the company and join Fox’s board following the close of the transaction.

“Over the past two decades, we’ve built Roku into the leading TV streaming platform,” Wood said. “The combination with Fox is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, scale faster and innovate more aggressively.”

One of the biggest questions surrounding the deal is whether Roku can maintain its longstanding reputation as a neutral platform.

Streaming giants including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount and Comcast all rely on Roku to distribute their apps and services. That neutrality has been a core component of Roku’s success, helping it position itself as a technology platform rather than a traditional media competitor.

Fox executives and Roku leadership emphasized that the platform will continue operating as an open, partner-friendly ecosystem.

Still, industry observers will be watching closely to see whether competitors grow more cautious about sharing data, advertising inventory or promotional opportunities with a platform now owned by a major media company.

The Battle for the Living Room

The acquisition underscores a larger shift underway across Hollywood.

For much of the streaming era, media companies focused on building content libraries and subscription businesses. Increasingly, the industry’s most valuable assets are becoming the platforms, operating systems and advertising technologies that connect viewers to that content.

In acquiring Roku, Fox is betting that controlling distribution may prove just as important as owning programming.

Seven years after the Disney transaction dramatically reshaped the Murdoch media empire, Fox is once again making a transformative move — this time not to expand its content portfolio, but to secure a commanding position in the connected-TV ecosystem that increasingly defines how audiences consume entertainment.

The next streaming war may not be fought over who makes the best shows. It may be fought over who controls the screen they appear on.