Roku streaming platform has 70 mn active accounts
ROKU recently reported that the number of its global active accounts has surpassed 70 million as of January 2023 and created a milestone for the company. roku streaming
The streaming hours for the full year 2022 were recorded at 87.4 billion, which was 19% up year over year. This helps Roku retain its number-one position in streaming platforms in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Roku has immensely benefitted from the ongoing cord-cutting as consumers are shifting their preference to TV streaming. Per Zippia, the estimated cord cutters in America in 2022 have been around 4.9 million. For the first time in 2022, time spent on streaming had surpassed cable, according to Nielsen.
It is also expected that cable TV subscribers could fall from 71 million in 2020 to 56 million in 2025. This provides a wide opportunity for streaming platforms like Roku.
Roku to Gain From Its Streaming Content
Besides cord cutting, there are other parameters that could further aid growth at Roku. Being a streaming operating system, Roku is home to top OTT platforms like Netflix and Walt Disney. Both these companies have launched their advertising video-on-demand model recently. This makes Netflix and Disney+ available to users at a decreased price and is expected to gain traction.
The growing users for Netflix and Disney would also increase engagement at Roku’s operating system and thus could further boost its top line.
In addition to this, Roku is also enhancing its own content library on the Roku Channel, which witnessed 90% year-over-year growth in streaming hours in the third quarter of fiscal 2022.
The Roku Channel recently sealed a one-year deal to be the official English language home channel for the Miss Universe beauty pageant, which will start streaming live from New Orleans on Jan 14.
The Roku Channel has also added two renowned film trilogies, Ice Cube’s comedy series Barbershop whose first movie made a whopping $77 million at the box office in 2002, and Kate Beckinsale’s action horror Underworld series.
Despite the exciting expansion of content on the Roku Channel, the company has been facing curtailed spending by advertisers due to macroeconomic factors such as high inflation and interest rates. It is expected that this threat will persist in the upcoming quarters as well and since the Roku channel’s revenues are solely dependent on ads, it might hurt its top line.
Shares of Roku have declined 78% in the last year compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector, which fell 31.9% in the same period.
In 2022, time spent streaming surpassed cable for the first time, according to Nielsen. In 2023 less than half of U.S. households are expected to have legacy pay TV, providing an opportunity for greater streaming adoption, eMarketer predicts.
Roku’s active account milestone was reached as the company announced its first-ever Roku-branded TV on Jan. 4. The launch of Roku Select and Roku Plus Series TVs are the first ever to be both designed and made by Roku. Roku Select and Plus Series TVs will be available in the U.S. in spring 2023.
