Fox buying – Fox’s reported push toward buying Roku would reshape the free-streaming market. With Roku’s ad-supported platforms added to Fox’s own streaming and broadcast assets, Fox could become the third-largest U.S. TV distributor by monthly viewership—potentially even
On the internet, “streaming” is often treated like a single contest. But in living rooms—where people flip between channels, apps, and devices—TV viewership can still decide who gets attention.
Fox. which has mostly stayed on the sidelines during the biggest streaming expansions. is now positioned to make a power play without spending billions on a brand-new mass-market streamer. The key idea is simple: buy Roku. then fold Roku’s free reach into Fox’s growing streaming portfolio—so Fox could stand taller than Netflix on how much TV audiences actually watch each month.
Under Nielsen’s March data, a Fox-Roku combination would make Fox the third-largest TV distributor in the United States by monthly viewership. Depending on a separate control scenario involving Paramount Skydance securing control of Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox could instead rank fourth.
The viewership math hinges on Fox’s mix of platforms. Fox would hold roughly a 10% viewership share across its broadcast network. cable channels including Fox News and Fox Business. its free streamer Tubi. and top free streamer The Roku Channel. Fox also owns paid streamers Fox One and Fox Nation. and would gain control of Howdy. Roku’s $3-per-month streamer. which launched last August.
That structure matters because Fox is not trying to outdo Netflix by building a sweeping streaming empire from scratch. Unlike some rivals that poured billions into creating mass-market streaming services aimed directly at Netflix’s model, Fox chose a different direction.
It offloaded its studio, its Hulu stake, and its library—including shows like “The Simpsons”—to Disney for $71 billion in 2019. Since then. Fox’s bets have concentrated on live TV. especially sports and news. while supplementing its lineup with lower-cost scripted programming such as game shows like “The Masked Singer.” The reasoning is clear in the results so far: cord-cutting has hit traditional television. but sports and news have remained among the biggest reasons people keep watching.
Fox’s approach also includes purchasing access to high-demand free streaming audiences. In 2020, Fox bought the free streamer Tubi for $440 million. Nielsen data shows that Tubi generates more monthly viewership than paid streamers like Peacock and HBO Max.
With Roku, the opportunity shifts from “strong free streaming” to something closer to a market position. Roku’s free streamer is even bigger than Tubi. with more viewership than any premium video service except for Netflix. the combined Hulu-Disney+ offering. and Prime Video. And as free. ad-supported services gain ground—partly because paid streamers have raised prices—Fox could end up owning two of the top free. ad-supported streaming services other than YouTube.
Still, viewership isn’t the only scoreboard. Netflix. for example. is described as generating nearly $4 billion in operating income last quarter and had over 325 million subscribers at the end of 2025. Even if Tubi became profitable last year, it has not become the same kind of revenue engine that Netflix is.
The wider picture looks like a fight over engagement as much as audience size. Hollywood giants including Netflix and Disney have been brainstorming ways to improve engagement as free services like YouTube, Tubi, and The Roku Channel gain traction among inflation-weary audiences.
Paid streamers. in turn. have leaned into short-form video and video podcasts—tools designed to add more value and encourage viewers to open their apps throughout the day. The direction points to the same problem across the industry: winning customers isn’t just about getting them to press play once. It’s about turning viewing into habit.
If Fox’s Roku plan moves forward, it won’t settle the whole debate between free and paid streaming. But it would change the conversation fast—because it suggests Fox is trying to win a chunk of the TV audience not by outspending the competition, but by consolidating what already pulls viewers in.
Fox Roku streaming Nielsen March data TV viewership Netflix Tubi The Roku Channel Howdy Fox News Fox Business cord-cutting live sports live news ad-supported streaming Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery