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Fox completes $22 billion acquisition of Roku

Fox completes $22 billion acquisition of Roku

Money Moves

A live-TV and news company now owns the screen millions of homes turn on first

5 days ago: Fox completes $22 billion acquisition of Roku

Overview

Updated 2 days ago

Fox closed its $22 billion purchase of Roku on Nov. 6, 2026, about two months before the first half of 2027 target the companies had set. The deal gives Fox the streaming system used by more than 100 million households worldwide.

Roku founder Anthony Wood joined Fox's board and is co-chair of a new Fox Digital Platforms division that includes Roku, Tubi and Fox One. Fox expects about $400 million in annual cost savings within two years, and its fiscal second-quarter report in early February 2027 will be the first to include Roku.

Why it matters

The company that controls what you see first when you turn on your TV would be owned by a company that makes the shows competing for that spot.

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Key Indicators

$22B
Deal value
Enterprise value Fox agreed to pay for Roku.
$160.00
Price per Roku share
Initially $96.00 cash plus 0.9693 Fox Class A shares; at closing, $95.30 cash plus 0.9799 shares after adjustment for dissenting shares.
73% / 27%
Combined ownership split
Fox holders kept 73%; Roku holders received 27%.
100M+
Streaming households
Global homes Roku reaches directly.
$400M
Targeted yearly cost savings
Annualized savings Fox expects within two years of closing.
Nov. 6, 2026
Closing date
Deal closed ahead of the first-half 2027 target.

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People Involved

Lachlan Murdoch
Lachlan Murdoch
Executive Chair and CEO, Fox Corporation
Runs Fox and the combined company after completing the Roku acquisition on Nov. 6, 2026.
AW
Anthony Wood
Founder, Chair and CEO, Roku
Joined Fox's board and is co-chair of Fox Digital Platforms after the acquisition closed.

Organizations Involved

Fox Corporation
Fox Corporation
Public media company
Completed its acquisition of Roku on Nov. 6, 2026.

The live-news, sports, and broadcast company the Murdoch family kept after selling most of 21st Century Fox to Disney.
Roku, Inc.
Roku, Inc.
Streaming platform company
Wholly owned subsidiary of Fox; led by CEO Mustafa Ozgen under Fox Digital Platforms.

The maker of the streaming operating system and home screen used by roughly half of U.S. broadband homes.

Timeline

May 2008 November 2026

10 events Latest: 5 days ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Fox completes $22 billion acquisition of Roku

    Latest Deal

    Fox closes the cash-and-stock deal after a DOJ second request and shareholder approval. Roku becomes a wholly owned subsidiary under a new Fox Digital Platforms division.

  2. Shareholders of both companies approve the deal

    Deal

    Fox holders cast 99.9% of votes in favor; Roku holders 81.5% in favor. The deal still needed regulatory clearance.

  3. DOJ issues second request for deal documents

    Regulatory

    The Justice Department asks for more information, extending the antitrust waiting period. Fox says the request was expected and keeps its first-half 2027 target.

  4. Eight Wall Street firms downgrade Roku to Hold

    Market

    Jefferies, Piper Sandler, JPMorgan, Evercore ISI, KeyBanc, William Blair, Loop Capital, and Citizens all cut Roku to Hold or equivalent, with most setting price targets at $160 — the deal price. Retail investors pushed Roku stock slightly higher overnight, buying against the analyst tide.

  5. Fox agrees to buy Roku for about $22 billion

    Deal

    Both boards unanimously approve the cash-and-stock agreement. Fox holders would own 73% of the combined company, Roku holders 27%.

  6. Fox shares fall about 15%

    Market

    Investors react to the price and the risk of merging a content company with a distribution platform. Fox Class A stock drops roughly 15%.

  7. Murdoch says Tubi and The Roku Channel will stay separate

    Statement

    Fox has no plans to merge its two free ad-supported streaming services. Tubi focuses on on-demand content; The Roku Channel centers on free linear channels, and Murdoch said the two serve different audiences.

  8. Roku reaches roughly 90 million households

    Background

    Roku ends 2024 with about 89.8 million streaming households, more than half of U.S. broadband homes.

  9. Roku goes public

    Background

    Roku lists on the Nasdaq and begins shifting its business from selling hardware to selling ads and platform services.

  10. Roku ships its first streaming box

    Background

    A project that began with Netflix backing becomes a standalone $99 device for watching internet video on a TV.

Scenarios

1

Deal closes on schedule in the first half of 2027

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Fox and Roku joint statement; coverage in Variety and Deadline

Regulators clear the merger, possibly with promises to keep Roku open to rival apps, and shareholders approve. Fox folds Tubi and The Roku Channel into one ad business and starts pulling the targeted $400 million in annual savings. This is the companies' own stated timeline.

2

Antitrust review forces conditions or blocks the deal

Possible Resolves by Q3 2027

Discussed by: Deadline and The Wrap, citing concerns over Roku's control of the home screen

The Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission opens a deep review of whether Fox could favor its own apps on a platform that rivals depend on to reach viewers. The agency demands binding conditions, sues to stop the deal, or the companies abandon it under pressure. Roku's gatekeeper role over search, the menu, and ad inventory is the central worry.

3

A rival bids for Roku before the deal closes

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Wall Street analysts quoted by Deadline weighing Roku's strategic value

Another company that wants control of connected-TV distribution, such as a larger streamer or device maker, makes a competing offer for Roku. A bidding contest raises the price or sends Roku to a different buyer. Roku's reach into 100 million homes is the kind of asset rivals may not want Fox to own.

4

Streaming rivals pull back from Roku over neutrality fears

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Wall Street analysts on the deal call, per Deadline; How-To Geek and SmartTVs.org analysis of the platform neutrality risk

Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, and other streamers currently pay Roku for placement and share ad inventory with the platform. If they decide a Fox-owned Roku tilts the home screen toward Tubi or Fox content, they could renegotiate deals, shrink their presence, or walk. Fox pledged to keep Roku an 'open, partner-friendly platform,' but that commitment is not binding, and rivals have reason to watch closely.

5

Roku's open platform draws a neutrality challenge

Possible Resolves by Nov 6, 2027

Discussed by: Streaming rivals and advertisers watching Fox's pledge to keep Roku open

Fox said it would keep Roku an open platform and not give Fox News or Fox One exclusive positioning. Rival streamers and advertisers will watch whether search results and home-screen placements stay neutral now that Fox owns the platform.

6

Fox hits its $400 million savings target

Possible Resolves by Nov 6, 2028

Discussed by: Fox executives and analysts

Fox expects about $400 million in annualized cost savings within two years of closing. The first test comes in Fox's fiscal second-quarter report in early February 2027, the first to include Roku.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

January 2000

AOL buys Time Warner (2000)

Internet provider AOL agreed to merge with media giant Time Warner in a deal valued near $165 billion, joining distribution with content. The logic was that owning the pipe and the programming would pay off together.

Then

The dot-com crash and a culture clash gutted the combined company's value within two years.

Now

Time Warner wrote off tens of billions and eventually split the businesses back apart. The deal became shorthand for distribution-plus-content mergers that fail.

Why this matters now

Media analyst Doug Creutz cited this history in urging skepticism about Fox owning both the shows and the screen they play on.

June 2018

AT&T acquires Time Warner (2018)

Phone and pay-TV company AT&T bought Time Warner for about $85 billion. The Department of Justice sued to block it, arguing the combined firm could harm rivals that needed Time Warner's content. A judge let it proceed.

Then

AT&T won in court and closed the deal, rebranding the unit WarnerMedia.

Now

The promised benefits never materialized. AT&T spun the media business off in 2022, unwinding the merger at a steep loss.

Why this matters now

It shows both how a vertical media deal can survive an antitrust challenge and how it can still fail commercially afterward.

March 2019

Disney buys 21st Century Fox (2019)

Disney paid about $71 billion for most of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets. The Murdochs kept the live news, sports, and broadcast pieces and spun them into the Fox Corporation that exists today.

Then

Disney used the assets to launch Disney+ and bulk up its content library.

Now

Fox became a leaner company built around live programming, with no streaming platform of its own.

Why this matters now

The Roku purchase is Fox fixing the gap that 2019 split left: it has the live content but, until now, no platform to distribute it directly.

Sources

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Fox Corporation SEC EDGAR CBS News Variety Deadline TipRanks Investing.com Yahoo Finance Hollywood Reporter The Desk How-To Geek Reuters TIKR.com Investing.com Investing.com Investing.com Deadline Variety Reuters / Investing.com SEC EDGAR Variety Deadline SEC EDGAR