Roku now makes TVs.
If you’re feeling a bit confused after reading that, you’re not alone. So-called “Roku TVs” have been available for purchase for years, and in fact 75% of all new smart TVs in the US use Roku. But while those TVs were powered by Roku’s operating system — the same system found in Roku streaming boxes and sticks — the TVs themselves were made by Hisense, TCL and a few other brands.
So when I say Roku now makes TVs, I mean Roku now sells TVs under its own name. For the first time, they are truly Roku TVs.
Roku Plus Series TV Review | Roku’s first TV, popular or not?
But is this a good idea? It’s not easy to break into the TV business, and while Roku has a strong brand associated with TVs, you have to wonder if that will be enough.
A blueprint for success?
Roku has been designing TVs for years. It lists the plans for all kinds of details, such as what kind of power supply is needed, where to put the power supply, where to put the HDMI board, where to put the speakers, how much power to feed the speakers, and so on. Where these parts were sourced and which parts of the blueprint to use and which to ignore always depended on the company whose logo was on the front of the TV.
And Roku seems content with its place in the TV business. He submitted these blueprints to the manufacturers, and together with them, his TV operating system. It continues to make streaming boxes and sticks, has its own advertising business — for in-content ads as well as display ads on home screens — and is developing its own entertainment channels, like the free Roku Chanel.
All this is a big deal. The company’s net revenue on the platform side (as in everything but devices) for 2022 was about $3.1 billion, up 13% year-over-year. Hardware is still the leading loser and is not making money. But Roku ended the year with about 70 million active users worldwide, up 16% year-over-year.
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And it makes sense that Roku would want to keep growing (its shareholders would demand it anyway). But is making your own TV — becoming a TV brand — the right move when hardware is losing money and your business is based on partnerships with other TV brands? You have to wonder what impact this will have on partnerships with brands like TCL and Hisense, which have also shown willingness to produce Google TV. Maybe it’s all smiles and handshakes now, but what if Roku’s TVs took a bite out of TCL and Hisense’s business? It’s okay to say, “Hey, there’s plenty of room for all of us!” But does it really exist?
Potentially disruptive partnerships are one of the risks Roku has taken. But regardless of how it all plays out, there’s another inevitable risk: Roku needs its new TV division to succeed. Starting a television brand requires huge investment, but televisions do not bring a huge profit margin. Roku has never wanted to make money off its hardware — it gets its paycheck from its operating system, licensing and ad revenue that comes through it, and more recently, the content it produces (see Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) to help sell those ads.
In other words, Rokus TVs are more like a Trojan horse than a cash cow when it comes to revenue.
Glasses in Roku color?
I can’t help but wonder if Roku decided to make this big move during the recent salad days when many tech companies were experiencing a bit of an upswing as everyone was holed up at home. For Roku, that meant a lot of streaming. The first three months of 2020 ended with 39.8 million active users. Today, that number has almost doubled.
However, now that things have reached a new normal, many tech companies are experiencing a rather embarrassing downturn, including Roku. And that raises the stakes. Roku’s TVs really need to be sold.
Fortunately, Roku’s brand stands on a solid foundation. But I think people who don’t know the ins and outs of the TV manufacturing business might wonder if Roku can really make a good-looking TV just because it makes well-received streaming boxes and sticks.
We’re about to find out. I recently got the Roku Plus series, which Roku says offers the right blend of premium and affordable. Roku told me that it built the TV for streaming and that it put its efforts — and associated costs — into things like full-array local dimming and quantum dot color luminance expansion, while saving costs by using a 60Hz panel instead of a 120 Hz, and not relying too much on a bunch of gameplay features.
Roku
MSRP for the 65-inch Plus series is $800, but it’s already on sale for $650 — and I doubt they’ll end up settling for that price. The 55-inch version retails for $500, and the 75-inch version is $1,000 — all available exclusively at Best Buy, at least for now. Those prices are compelling, but if Roku’s TVs do well against TCL and Hisense’s price competition, then Roku could cause some changes in the TV market. How many leaders can we have a run for their money until the premium brands are forced to lower their prices?
To find out how Roku’s Plus Series stacks up, be sure to check out our Roku Plus Series TV review.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn