For a few months now we have heard rumors that Roku was going to go public and sell stock. Now The Wall Street Journal and Tech Crunch both say the deal is done and Roku will go public this year. According to reports Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Allen & Co have all been selected as underwriters for the offering.
Roku currently controls about half of the streaming set-top box market in the United States with Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, and others fighting for the other half. Roku even recently announced that it has 15 million active users and 7 billion hours streamed in just the first half of 2017. (Note: One account can represent multiple devices.)
It seems Roku’s stance as a neutral service willing to stream any service has paid off. Roku is currently the only device that will stream Google Play, Amazon Video, FandangoNOW, Vudu, and more with an official app.
Roku is also building up its live TV streaming lineup with Sling TV, DIRECTV NOW, PlayStation Vue, CenturyLink, Charter, and more. Other services, such as Hulu’s live TV beta, have stated that Roku support is coming soon.
Now it seems Roku is taking a page from its competitors by going public to raise more money. Currently, all its major competitors sell stocks such as Google, Amazon, and Apple. Now Roku is joining that list.
What does that mean for the Roku user today? Currently nothing, but further down the road, it will allow Roku to invest in its players.
This public offering could also help Roku raise the funds needed to launch its players in more countries. While Roku dominates the United States market, its footprint outside of the United States is much smaller. Only recently did Roku start selling in Mexico, for example, and Roku has yet to launch in other countries such as Korea.
So do you plan to buy Roku stock? Leave us a comment and let us know.
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