Bloomberg/Getty Images
- Fox is pushing further into free, ad-supported streaming by buying Roku.
- Acquiring Roku's free streamer will give Fox a larger US TV viewership share than Netflix.
- Netflix is still far more valuable than a Fox-Roku combo because of its paid subscription business.
Fox mostly sat out the streaming wars, but it could soon surpass Netflix in US TV viewership anyway.
Buying Roku would make Fox the third-largest TV distributor in the US by monthly viewership, according to Nielsen's March data (or fourth-largest if Paramount Skydance secures control of Warner Bros. Discovery).
How did that happen? It mostly comes down to viewership growth in the free streaming business, which both Fox and Roku have focused on.
Fox would have a 10% US TV viewership share across its broadcast network, cable channels like Fox News and Fox Business, its free streamer Tubi, and top free streamer The Roku Channel. Fox also owns paid streamers Fox One and Fox Nation and would gain control of Howdy, Roku's $3-per-month streamer, which launched last August.
However, viewership doesn't directly translate into dollars. Netflix gushes cash, with nearly $4 billion in operating income last quarter, and had over 325 million subscribers at the end of 2025. Netflix is also huge across the world, while Nielsen's data only captures US viewership.
That's why Netflix, with its paid subscription model, is valued at over $342 billion.
Fox's unorthodox streaming strategy
Unlike some rivals, Fox decided not to spend billions of dollars building out a mass-market streamer in hopes of competing with Netflix.
Instead, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch's Fox went the other direction by offloading its studio, its Hulu stake, and its library with shows like "The Simpsons" to Disney for $71 billion in 2019.
Fox doubled down on its big bets of live TV, especially sports and news, while rounding out its broadcast programming with cheaper scripted game shows like "The Masked Singer."
Fox also made a key move by buying the free streamer Tubi for $440 million in 2020. The Gen Z-friendly service has surged in popularity in recent years for its huge catalog of old TV and quirky, offbeat shows. Tubi generates more monthly viewership than paid streamers like Peacock and HBO Max, according to Nielsen.
Nielsen
With Roku, Fox would instantly become a superpower in the free streaming space. Roku's free streamer is even bigger than Tubi, with more viewership than any premium video service except for Netflix, the combined Hulu-Disney+, and Prime Video. Free streamers have gained ground as their paid counterparts have raised prices.
Hollywood giants like Netflix and Disney have been brainstorming ways to improve engagement as free services like YouTube, Tubi, and The Roku Channel gain traction among inflation-weary audiences.
Paid streamers have turned to short-form video and video podcasts to add more value and build habits by getting viewers to open their apps throughout the day.