Roku unveiled its Roku Select and Roku Plus Series TVs on Wednesday, the first TVs to be designed and made by the company.
The company will make 11 models, ranging from 24 to 75 inches, which will feature Roku’s operating system, as well as a new Roku TV Wireless Soundbar. The sets will be available in the U.S. starting in spring 2023.
This is the first time Roku is making its own sets, but the company has existing TV sets made in partnership with other manufacturers, as well as its traditional hardware of Roku streaming sticks and boxes. Roku also plans to release a new OLED TV design for its partners.
“Over the past 20 years, Roku has been instrumental in what is now the mainstream way to enjoy a great television series, a classic movie, or live sports,” said Mustafa Ozgen, president, devices, Roku. “Our goal is to continue to create an even better TV experience for everyone. These Roku-branded TVs will not only complement the current lineup of partner-branded Roku TV models, but also allow us to enable future smart TV innovations. The streaming revolution has only just begun.”
It comes as Roku faces a difficult environment for other aspects of its business. The company’s advertising business has been particularly challenged amid a downturn in spending, and it warned that its ad budgets were expected to be under pressure throughout the holiday season. In November, Roku said it planned to cut 200 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce, in a move to “slow down the company’s 2023 operating expense growth rate due to current economic conditions.”
Over the past year, the company has been leaning toward bringing more original programming to its platform, including the premiere of its original film, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, starring Daniel Radcliffe, this fall. However, Wall Street does not yet appear to be keen on this strategy, particularly in the face of growing operating losses. Shares of Roku have fallen 32 percent over the past three months and 80 percent over the past year.
And while launching its own TV line could provide a new revenue stream for the company, it may also create even more rivals for Roku, which is already facing competition from Amazon, Apple and Google, companies that also have their own streaming and hardware services. The new Roku TVs will work with other streaming hardware and will continue to feature other streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Apple+ and others on the Roku interface.
Shares of Roku were rising 5 percent in midday trading Wednesday, following the announcement. And Guggenheim analysts already see the TV launch as a positive for the company, saying that they view it as a “key strategic move to driving market share growth,” and that Roku can lean into its e-commerce partnership with Walmart to sell the products.