In May, Parks Associates Senior Analyst Heather Way said the following: “By 2018, 70% of all TV households in the U.S. will have a smart TV, and this platform, combined with demand for TV Everywhere, is forever changing the concept of TV.”
We can argue the percentage points, but it is pretty evident that smart TVs are becoming the norm.
So where does this leave Roku?
The company began by selling hardware to transform ‘dumb TVs’ into smart TVs, and along the way secured content partnerships that made it the leader in the space.
Now, Roku faces both hardware and licensing competition from Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft (XBox), and Sony (PlayStation). And so, Roku is quickly transforming itself into a software company – if the majority of TVs are smart TVs, the thinking goes, why not at least control the ‘smart’ experience. As a result, rather than focus on securing partnerships with content producers, Roku is set on securing partnerships with TV hardware manufacturers.
Last year at this time (CES 2014) the company announced ‘Roku TV’ with partners Hisense and TCL. Both TCL Roku TV and Hisense Roku TV, as Roku CEO Anthony Wood described in a blog post on Monday, have received very positive reviews.
We asked Wood yesterday about the company’s shift: “Consumers will enjoy the ease and satisfaction of Roku TV while manufacturers leverage our design specifications, content relationships and software expertise,” Wood told us. “At the same time the content community will gain additional distribution and revenues through an already popular and trusted streaming platform – now in the TV.”
In Wood’s blog post on Monday, he also made four new announcements that signal the shift:
– First, TCL – one of the fastest growing brands in the U.S. – will release 12 new TCL Roku TV models in the first half of 2015. The new TCL Roku TV lineup will feature new hardware designs and deliver the same great Roku TV experience that customers love. It’s fantastic to have TCL’s commitment to Roku TV with this growing number of TCL Roku TV models.
– Second, we announced two new Roku TV partners: Haier and Insignia. These great brands are known for making high quality and affordable products. Insignia Roku TV models will come this spring and you’ll be able to purchase them exclusively from Best Buy. Haier Roku TV models will be available this summer.
– Third, we announced the availability of a Roku TV 4K reference design for our Roku TV manufacturing partners. This means that our TV OEM partners can begin development of Roku TV 4K models that merge the latest in TV viewing technology with the Roku operating system and experience. TCL is an initial partner working to deliver a TCL Roku TV 4K model in the future while Netflix is our initial 4K content partner.
– And finally, Roku TV has been recognized by Netflix for an exceptional smart TV experience and is part of the “Netflix preferred TV program.”