Roku grew streaming households to 81.6 million globally in Q1, a 14 percent gain year-over-year, according to the company. Revenue was up 19 percent to $881.5 million. Streaming hours were up 23 percent to 30.8 billion, but guidance that rival ad-supported streaming platforms could hinder further growth this year dinged the strong quarterly results, sending shares down 3 percent in after hour trading last week. Claiming a position as “the No. 1 selling TV OS in the U.S. and Mexico,” Roku said the Roku Channel was No. 3 on the platform “by both reach and engagement.” Continue reading Roku Earnings Outperform Street Estimates Despite Headwinds

Walmart is acquiring Vizio in a deal valued at $2.3 billion. The retail giant is following a template established by Amazon by expanding into entertainment media and connected TV advertising. The majority of Vizio’s growth from the last five years has come from ads on its WatchFree+ platform, which offers more than 260 channels, Walmart said touting a deal point. Vizio’s primary business is manufacturing value-priced TV sets. It also makes soundbars. The deal will instantly vault Walmart into a mix of players including Amazon, Roku, Samsung Ads and Google’s YouTube. Continue reading Walmart Bolsters Advertising Business with Vizio Acquisition

TiVo has indicated it will enter the North American smart television set market, announcing a “multi-year, multi-million-unit agreement” with Sharp that will see sets start to ship in 2024 beginning in Europe. The move to populate the TV ecosystem with hardware running Xperi’s TiVo OS pits the company against an entrenched group of smart TV competitors that includes Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV, Roku, Samsung Tizen and LG Electronics’ webOS. Added to those is the Comcast and Charter Communications Xumo brand, and also Telly, which offers free TVs supported by ads. Continue reading Xperi Advances Its Plan for TiVo OS Smart TVs in Sharp Deal