Roku announced at the CES 2023 show on Wednesday that they will begin building their own TVs instead of outsourcing to other brands.
Previously, Roku would outsource the manufacturing process to companies like TCL, Hisense and Philips. However, that is no longer the case as Roku will now build its own and control just about every aspect of the new TV products. This way, they don’t have to rely on 3rd parties.
To start, Roku will offer approximately 11 models with various sizes from 24 inches up to 75 inches of big ass screen space. Prices will also vary from $119 to around $999. These prices are pretty average nowadays when it comes to TVs.
Roku president of devices Mustafa Ozgen stated;
“Over the past 20 years, Roku has been instrumental in what is now the mainstream way to enjoy a great television series, a classic movie, or live sports. Our goal is to continue to create an even better TV experience for everyone. These Roku-branded TVs will not only complement the current lineup of partner-branded Roku TV models, but also allow us to enable future smart TV innovations. The streaming revolution has only just begun.
Mustafa Ozgen, Roku President of devices
Roku said that the TVs will be available in the United States around the spring of 2023 and will run the official Roku OS. All popular Roku Voice Remote features such as Private Listening and Find my Remote will be available.
Roku also announced a new OLED TV “reference design” for its third-party partners. The company said that the reference design is supposed to bring OLED image quality to a broader audience. This is great news as OLED TVs are usually significantly more expensive, so the more competition the better.
As Roku faces challenges in its ad sales due to a decline in the digital advertising market, the company is expanding its presence in the hardware industry. While Roku generates the majority of its revenue from its Platform business, which includes ad sales, it also sells hardware such as streaming devices and third-party TVs. Their future in the hardware business will be interesting to say the least.
