Fox Corporation has agreed to acquire streaming platform Roku for approximately $22 billion, combining the media giant's live content with one of the largest streaming audiences in America. The deal, announced Monday, creates a formidable competitor in the evolving television market, bringing together Fox's sports, news and entertainment programming with Roku's 100 million viewers and Tubi's ad-supported service.

The acquisition builds on Fox's $440 million purchase of Tubi in 2020, marking its continued push into digital streaming amid cord-cutting trends. CEO Lachlan Murdoch positioned the merger as uniting "the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform." This follows Roku's transformation from a Netflix spin-off into a major hardware and software player.

Regulatory approval and shareholder votes from both companies remain hurdles before the transaction closes in the first half of next year. Once completed, Fox shareholders will control roughly 73% of the combined entity, with Roku investors holding the remaining 27%. The merged company will rank as the third-largest television provider in the US by viewing share.

This consolidation reflects traditional media's scramble to compete with Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming services. By owning both content creation and distribution, Fox gains direct access to viewer data and advertising revenue streams that have proven more lucrative than traditional broadcast models.