Roku celebrates a major milestone as the CTV sector rapidly changes

The news: Roku has hit a landmark 90 million streaming households, it said Wednesday, reaching a significant milestone as mergers and acquisitions shake up the connected TV (CTV) and streaming sectors.

Zooming out: Roku has firmly established itself as a leader in both the US streaming and CTV markets, but its future in the saturated and rapidly consolidating industry is uncertain.

• We forecast that US CTV households will reach 117.3 million this year, up just 1.9% from 2024 and accounting for 86.9% of households. That saturation has caused hardware sales to stall, forcing companies to pivot aggressively to advertising.
• Roku is no exception, and advertising is more than making up for the sales decline. The company reported platform revenues of $908 million in Q3 2024, far above Wall Street expectations.

However, consolidation will put pressure on Roku’s business throughout 2025.

• Walmart recently completed its acquisition of Vizio, creating a force of nature in CTV and retail media that Roku will need to outpace.
• Disney recently announced plans to acquire a majority stake in streaming service Fubo and merge it with Hulu + Live TV, creating a large pay TV service and clearing the way for Venu Sports to launch and disrupt sports streaming. Without a major rights deal of its own, Roku could struggle to attract new customers.

Our take: While Roku faces a rapidly changing market, strong penetration and command of 121.4 million US viewers—the most of any CTV platform, per our forecast—means it will remain an appealing platform for advertisers and content providers.

• Roku provides a path for users to subscribe to various streaming services. Its all-in-one hub positions it as a valuable partner for streamers, and consumers are unlikely to leave its ecosystem once embedded.
• The company still has room to grow: It recently announced that it would be a launch partner for Comcast’s upcoming self-serve ad platform for small businesses, though it would likely benefit more from fleshing out its own SMB platform.

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