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ROKU Set to Launch The Rich Eisen Show on The Roku Channel

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Roku Inc. (ROKU - Free Report) awaits the debut of The Rich Eisen Show hosted by Rich Eisen on the Roku Channel on Sep 12. This is a two-time Emmy-nominated talk show, which features a mix of sports, humor, and pop culture.

Streamers can access the weekday live show through the FAST channel available on The Roku Channel and The Roku Channel’s Live TV Guide on Channel 210 from Monday-Friday, from 12:00-3:00 PM ET/9:00 AM-12:00 PM PT. The prior episodes of the show will be streamed when the broadcast is off air.

The show, which previously attracted renowned personalities from sports and entertainment like Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Matt Damon and more, is now expected to attract users to The Roku Channel as it launches just a week into NFL.

Roku, Inc. Price and Consensus

Roku, Inc. Price and Consensus

Roku, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Roku, Inc. Quote

The Roku Channel Expands Content Width

The Roku Channel has been focused on expanding its library. It recently added 14 new linear channels, of which the local news channels seemed to gain the most traction. Roku expects all the newly launched channels that offer a wide range of genres like Westerns, Spanish-language entertainment and true crime to drive viewers’ interest and increase active accounts.

The company boasts about maintaining its market leadership as it added 1.8 million incremental active accounts to reach 63.1 million in the second quarter of 2022.

The continued momentum of Roku Originals complements the company’s market leadership. The second season of Chrissy’s Court was the highest-rated unscripted Roku Originals launch ever and delivered four times more unique views than the first season.

The upcoming feature film WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, which is scheduled to be released on Nov 4, is anticipated to attract advertisers due to the new opportunities to engage with Roku Originals.

Roku recently announced a new product called Shoppable Ads, which makes shopping on TV streaming hassle-free. Its partnership with Walmart, a leading retail giant to be their exclusive retailer shows growth prospects in this business unit.

Considering these factors, the company estimates total net revenues to increase approximately 3% year over year to $700 million and total gross profits of roughly around $325 million.

Roku Faces Uncertainty and Stiff Competition

Despite investments toward expansion, COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war have contributed to Roku facing a slowdown in TV advertising expenditure over the last two quarters.

This apart, the company faces significant competitive pressure from Amazon’s (AMZN - Free Report) Fire TV Stick, Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Chromecast and Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) Apple TV.

Roku’s shares have underperformed, having plunged 69.7% year to date compared to its peers — Amazon, Google and Apple — which have declined 22.2%, 24.4% and 13%, respectively. The Zacks Broadcast Radio and Television industry has seen a decline of 53.6% over the same period.

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company will be facing macroeconomic challenges in the short term due to inflation, rising interest rates and global supply chain disruption. However, it is well poised for long-term growth, as its streaming stick stands are gaining preference and The Roku Channel is continuously diversifying into new types of content. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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