Fox Closes $22-Billion Roku Deal Months Ahead of Schedule

By Priya Raman

Fox Corp. has completed its $22-billion acquisition of Roku, closing the deal on Friday, months ahead of the companies' original target of the first half of 2027. The valuation includes debt. The purchase turns the Murdoch family's company into a major player in streaming video and combines Fox's news, sports and broadcast channels with a San José-based platform that reaches 100 million households globally.

The timing matters. Traditional pay-TV continues its slow decline as viewers abandon cable and satellite for streaming. Roku, founded in 2002, hands Fox a direct line into consumer households that its broadcast business has never owned outright. Fox already operates the free ad-supported service Tubi, which turned profitable last year.

What does the deal change for marketers and viewers?

For advertisers, the immediate practical change is scale: one company now controls Roku's 100-million-household footprint alongside Tubi and Fox's linear portfolio. Fox said it expects around $400 million in cost reductions within two years of the acquisition.

Fox also gains the ability to market its own channels more aggressively across Roku's home screens, but it has pledged to keep the platform open to competitor content. The Department of Justice found that combining Fox and Roku would not harm competition among ad-supported streaming providers. Fox committed to carrying content it does not own for at least three years, and Roku users will still be able to configure applications on their home screens.

"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," Fox Executive Chair and Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement. "Our shared entrepreneurial passion and clear conviction toward building the future together with our new Roku colleagues gives us great confidence in the opportunities ahead of us."

Who runs the combined operation?

Roku founder Anthony Wood joins the Fox board of directors. He will also serve as co-chair of Fox Digital Platforms, a newly formed division that houses Roku, Tubi, the direct-to-consumer streaming service Fox One, and Red Seat Ventures, which provides sales and technical support to podcasters. Paul Cheesbrough, who oversaw Tubi for Fox, becomes co-chair and chief executive of the division.

What do Roku shareholders receive?

Under the merger terms, Roku stockholders receive $95.30 in cash and 0.9799 of a share of Fox Class A common stock for each share of Roku Class A and Class B common stock they held immediately before closing. Following the transaction, Fox stockholders own around 74% of the outstanding shares of Fox common stock; former Roku stockholders own approximately 26%. Roku shares stopped trading on the Nasdaq on Friday.

The early close gives Fox a full run at the 2026 advertising cycle with its expanded streaming inventory in place, and the three-year carriage commitment sets a concrete clock on how long regulators and competitors can hold the company to its openness pledge.