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ROKU Expands The Roku Channel Internationally, Grows Library
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Roku (ROKU - Free Report) recently announced that it has expanded the availability of the Roku Channel to Mexico. The free streaming channel available on Roku devices was made accessible to the people of Mexico on Oct 13.
For the launch, Roku is bringing in content from global partners like Sony and Lionsgate as well as from local content providers, such as Telefórmula, Canela TV, Runtime Espanol and Novelisima.
The Roku Channel’s expansion to Mexico is notable, given the service has beefed up its Spanish-language content with the launch of Espacio Latino in June this year. It features thousands of free, original and exclusive movies and TV shows in Spanish, plus popular English titles dubbed and subtitled.
This has received significant traction and expanded Roku’s user engagement, benefiting it from strong momentum in average revenue per user (ARPU). ARPU was $44.10 in the second quarter of 2022, reflecting an increase of 21% year over year, while active accounts were 63.1 million, reflecting an increase of 14% year over year.
Recently, Roku has been focusing on expanding its portfolio on The Roku Channel and also Roku Originals.
The Roku Channel recently became the exclusive AVOD partner for the Adult Swim Festival, a three-part special featuring performances by headliners Run The Jewels, Tierra Whack and Dethklok from the live event that took place in Philadelphia in August 2022.
It previously added 14 new linear channels, of which the local news channels seemed to gain the most traction. These newly launched channels that offer a wide range of genres like Westerns, Spanish-language entertainment and true crime are expected to drive viewers’ interest and increase active accounts.
In the coming months, the company is set to introduce a content discovery experience, The Buzz, to the Roku Home Screen Menu as well as two significant updates to its What to Watch feature, Continue Watching and an expanded platform-wide Save List.
Roku is also making updates to Roku Voice, expanding Bluetooth Private Listening, easing navigation within the Live TV Channel Guide with the addition of categories, and offering more content discovery tools, among many other features.
Roku is also continuing its momentum on Roku Originals. 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 anticipates revenues in third-quarter 2022 to rise 3% year over year to $700 million.
Roku Faces Major Headwinds From Strong Competition
Despite investing in growing its library, Roku faces immense competition from existing local traditional pay TV services and products, including those provided by incumbent pay TV service providers and mobile streaming platforms.
Roku, which currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), has lost 77.2% of its share price year to date against the Zacks Consumer Discretionary Sector, which declined 42% in the same time frame.
Roku also faces stiff competition from Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) , Disney (DIS - Free Report) and Apple (AAPL - Free Report) , which have extensive content portfolios and strong brand identities.
Netflix has lost 61.4% whereas Disney declined 37.6% year to date. Both Disney and Netflix are set to launch their ad-tier subscriptions for customers by the end of this year. This low-cost subscription is expected to gain traction. Netflix also won 7 Emmy Awards this year while Disney won 6.
Shares of Apple have declined 19.4% in the same period. Apple TV+ has been signing deals with the likes of Maya Rudolph's production company, Animal Pictures, along with Scott Free Productions, Appian Way, Sikelia Productions and Green Door Pictures, to name a few, to build its content portfolio.
Besides this, Roku faces challenges from the macroeconomic environment such as inflation, recessionary fear and supply chain issue. Both consumers and advertisers have significantly curtailed spending, and the company expects this threat to persist in the coming quarters as well.
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ROKU Expands The Roku Channel Internationally, Grows Library
Roku (ROKU - Free Report) recently announced that it has expanded the availability of the Roku Channel to Mexico. The free streaming channel available on Roku devices was made accessible to the people of Mexico on Oct 13.
For the launch, Roku is bringing in content from global partners like Sony and Lionsgate as well as from local content providers, such as Telefórmula, Canela TV, Runtime Espanol and Novelisima.
The Roku Channel’s expansion to Mexico is notable, given the service has beefed up its Spanish-language content with the launch of Espacio Latino in June this year. It features thousands of free, original and exclusive movies and TV shows in Spanish, plus popular English titles dubbed and subtitled.
This has received significant traction and expanded Roku’s user engagement, benefiting it from strong momentum in average revenue per user (ARPU). ARPU was $44.10 in the second quarter of 2022, reflecting an increase of 21% year over year, while active accounts were 63.1 million, reflecting an increase of 14% year over year.
Roku, Inc. Price and Consensus
Roku, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Roku, Inc. Quote
Recently, Roku has been focusing on expanding its portfolio on The Roku Channel and also Roku Originals.
The Roku Channel recently became the exclusive AVOD partner for the Adult Swim Festival, a three-part special featuring performances by headliners Run The Jewels, Tierra Whack and Dethklok from the live event that took place in Philadelphia in August 2022.
It previously added 14 new linear channels, of which the local news channels seemed to gain the most traction. These newly launched channels that offer a wide range of genres like Westerns, Spanish-language entertainment and true crime are expected to drive viewers’ interest and increase active accounts.
In the coming months, the company is set to introduce a content discovery experience, The Buzz, to the Roku Home Screen Menu as well as two significant updates to its What to Watch feature, Continue Watching and an expanded platform-wide Save List.
Roku is also making updates to Roku Voice, expanding Bluetooth Private Listening, easing navigation within the Live TV Channel Guide with the addition of categories, and offering more content discovery tools, among many other features.
Roku is also continuing its momentum on Roku Originals. 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 anticipates revenues in third-quarter 2022 to rise 3% year over year to $700 million.
Roku Faces Major Headwinds From Strong Competition
Despite investing in growing its library, Roku faces immense competition from existing local traditional pay TV services and products, including those provided by incumbent pay TV service providers and mobile streaming platforms.
Roku, which currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), has lost 77.2% of its share price year to date against the Zacks Consumer Discretionary Sector, which declined 42% in the same time frame.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Roku also faces stiff competition from Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) , Disney (DIS - Free Report) and Apple (AAPL - Free Report) , which have extensive content portfolios and strong brand identities.
Netflix has lost 61.4% whereas Disney declined 37.6% year to date. Both Disney and Netflix are set to launch their ad-tier subscriptions for customers by the end of this year. This low-cost subscription is expected to gain traction. Netflix also won 7 Emmy Awards this year while Disney won 6.
Shares of Apple have declined 19.4% in the same period. Apple TV+ has been signing deals with the likes of Maya Rudolph's production company, Animal Pictures, along with Scott Free Productions, Appian Way, Sikelia Productions and Green Door Pictures, to name a few, to build its content portfolio.
Besides this, Roku faces challenges from the macroeconomic environment such as inflation, recessionary fear and supply chain issue. Both consumers and advertisers have significantly curtailed spending, and the company expects this threat to persist in the coming quarters as well.