One in every three new smart TVs sold in the United States is a Roku TV, according to industry analysts. Outside of the U.S? Not so much. But Roku's looking to change that and today has announced that it now has more than a dozen partners in Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
Mexico has three new Roku TV partners to look forward to in InFocus, Polaroid and Walmart's ATVIO brand. And Westinghouse — already a partner in the U.S. — will bring its Roku TVs to Mexico as well.
Other brands bringing Roku TV to Canada and the UK in 2020 will be Element, Hisense, Hitachi, JVC, Magnavox, onn, Philips, RCA, Sanyo and TCL, with a total of 15 spread throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Roku is making the announcements this week at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. In addition to the new partnerships, Roku also has announced its new "Roku TV Ready" standard , which will allow more seamless connections between Roku TVs and third-party audio devices.
Roku TV Momentum Grows with New Licensee Brands
15 global brands to make Roku TV models in North America and Europe in 2020
LAS VEGAS (CES) – Jan. 6, 2020 – Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) today announced that 15 TV brands will launch Roku TV™ models in Canada, Mexico, the United States and the United Kingdom in 2020, providing consumers with a premium smart TV experience at an affordable price. Roku TV brands in 2020 include ATVIO, Element, Hisense, Hitachi, InFocus, JVC, Magnavox, onn., Philips, Polaroid, RCA, Sanyo, TCL and Westinghouse.
In Mexico, new partner brands InFocus, Polaroid and Walmart's ATVIO will sell Roku TV models, while existing partner brand Westinghouse and others will extend their Roku TV offerings to Mexico. In addition, TCL and Hisense will expand their Roku TV offerings with new Roku TV models launching later in the year.
The Roku TV licensing program offers OEMs and TV brands an easy and cost-effective way to make best-in-class smart TVs at competitive price points that consumers love. Roku offers the #1 licensed TV operating system in North America. Roku provides a TV hardware reference design and the Roku operating system, which provides automatic software updates that deliver new features and streaming channels.
Roku TV models offer consumers a customizable home screen, thousands of free and paid streaming channels and advanced features like fast and easy search across top channels with results ranked by price, and private listening available in the Roku mobile app. The Roku TV home screen puts a customer's favorite entertainment in one place so it's easier than ever to watch what they love. People can stream free movies and TV episodes, news and sports or access a cable box, game console, or antenna from the simple home screen.
"2019 was a tremendous year for Roku TV, with more brands, retailers and consumers choosing the platform than ever before," said Mustafa Ozgen, senior vice president and general manager of Account Acquisition at Roku. "We believe that Roku TV represented more than one in three smart TVs sold in the U.S. during the first nine months of 2019, and the number of our licensees keeps growing."
ROKU TV FEATURES INCLUDE
- High Dynamic Range (HDR10) – 4K Roku TV models support HDR10 content, making colors brighter and richer, particularly in vibrant scenes like landscapes and cityscapes.
- Dolby Vision® HDR and Dolby Atmos® sound – Certain OEMs and TV models that use the Roku TV platform may also incorporate Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Dolby Vision transforms picture quality with ultra-vivid imaging — incredible brightness, contrast, color, and detail that brings entertainment to life. Dolby Atmos transports listeners from an ordinary moment into an extraordinary experience with moving audio that flows all around listeners. The addition of these cutting-edge technologies from Dolby will turn these Roku TV models into entertainment powerhouses.
- Full-Array Local Dimming (FALD) – Select 4K Roku TV sets include FALD, a top-of-the-line technology that creates striking contrast. It works by grouping TV backlights into individually-controlled zones so that the picture can stay bright where it's supposed to be bright—and dark where it's not.
- Control Multiple Roku Devices with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant –Customers who use Alexa-enabled devices and/or Google Assistant devices to control their Roku device can now control multiple Roku devices in their home. Consumers can ask their Alexa or Google Assistant-enabled device to launch channels, find movies, play music, and more on their Roku TV in select regions.
- Private Listening – With private listening on the free Roku mobile app, people can use headphones connected to their mobile phone to enjoy TV late at night, or any time they'd like to avoid distractions.
- Roku Search – Roku Search makes it easy to discover something great to watch. Simply search by title, actor, or select topical subjects in certain regions. Consumers will get results across top channels, with results listed in order by price.
About Roku, Inc.
Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. We connect users to the streaming content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku TV models and Roku streaming players are available around the world through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with TV OEMs and service operators. Roku audio products are available in the U.S. through direct retail sales. Roku is headquartered in Los Gatos, Calif. U.S.A.
