Fox completed its $22 billion purchase of Roku on Friday, bringing the company that runs the Roku home screen under the same owner as Tubi and Fox One. The closing announcement described a new corporate division and its leadership. It gave no launch date for a combined streaming service and announced no new charge for Roku users.
The acquisition gives Fox a new way to reach viewers who open a Roku TV or plug a Roku player into another television. The Verge reported that the platform reaches more than 100 million US households. That figure describes Roku's distribution, which includes people who use their devices to watch services from other companies.
The device, the home screen and the apps
A Roku TV or streaming player gives you a place to open apps. You need a Roku account to activate the device. Roku does not charge for creating the account. The hardware purchase and any paid subscriptions you choose are separate costs. Buying a Roku TV, for example, gives you the means to open a paid app. Access to that app's subscription catalog depends on the service and your plan.
The Roku Channel is a service on that platform. Its support page describes a free catalog that includes live channels and Roku Originals. Paid subscriptions are also available through Roku. Tubi is a separate free streaming service supported by advertising, while Fox One is Fox's subscription service. Those distinctions matter if you are trying to work out whether a show or game is included. Seeing a service on your home screen tells you where to open it. The service's listing and plan terms tell you what you can watch.
Who handles a charge on a Roku device?
If you pay for a streaming app, start with the receipt or card statement. Roku's billing guide says charges it processes can appear as Roku, Roku for a named service, or The Roku Channel. Its subscription page lists services billed and managed through Roku. You can use it to check the renewal date or turn off auto-renewal for subscriptions Roku manages.
The billing company and the company that handles cancellation can differ. Roku directs Disney+, Hulu and Sling TV customers to those services to manage or cancel their plans even when Roku processes the payment. For a subscription bought directly from a streaming service, use that service's account page. Howdy, Roku's paid streaming service, is another example: Roku says customers who subscribed through Prime manage that subscription through Amazon.
For a plan that Roku manages, its billing guide says access generally lasts until the end of the current billing cycle after you turn off renewal. A free trial needs to be canceled before it ends if you want to avoid a recurring charge. The place you signed up still determines which account to check, even when you watch every day on the same television.
What Fox has announced so far
Fox put Roku, Tubi and Fox One in its new digital platforms division alongside other businesses. Roku founder Anthony Wood joins Fox's board and will share leadership of the division with Paul Cheesbrough. When Roku first addressed customers about the deal, it told them they could keep using their devices and services as usual. Friday's release described who would run the combined businesses and left product details for later.
Fox can use Roku to put its programming in front of more viewers. The closing release gives households no timetable for a revised home screen, a joint subscription or a change to what an existing plan includes. If you're buying a player or signing up for a service this weekend, compare the device price and the plan you can actually buy today.
