year counts its growing consumer base beyond 70 million subscribers as it launches its own television channel, CEO Anthony Wood told CNBC on Thursday.
The streaming company unveiled its new television channels, the Roku Select and Roku Plus Series, on Wednesday during the Consumer Electronics Show.
Roku has sold hardware items in the past, such as sound amplifiers and streaming players, although they have often been a money-losing part of the business. Still, Wood is optimistic about new TV sales.
“We generate billions of dollars a year in revenue from advertising, from distributing streaming services and we have a great platform to do that, but the core of the business is our platform’s market share,” Wood said.
It will sell 11 TV models from 24 to 75 inches, which will be purchased in the spring. Prices will be between $119 to $999.
Roku’s commitment to hardware comes after a difficult year that saw its stock fall 80%, forcing the company to cut costs in areas like advertising and projects.
The company tightened its fourth-quarter guidance in November, reporting a profit of $800 million, a decline of more than 7% year over year. The following week, the company announced it would cut about 200 jobs, or 5% of its workforce. It also reined in advertising costs in an effort to slim margins.
“If you look at the ad business as a whole, it’s clear the industry is hurting right now,” Wood said, though he noted that streaming advertising is growing faster than traditional television advertising.
But Wood remains hopeful, capitalizing on the momentum of the streaming industry in general.
“Roku’s streaming hours were 87 billion streaming hours last year,” Wood said. “That’s up 19% year over year. The world is moving to streaming. All TV will be streamed, which means all TV ads will be streamed.”
Until now, Roku’s streaming technology has been able to work through TVs made by manufacturers such as Hisense, TCL, Philips, JVC and others. By introducing its own television channel, it will compete with its partners.
Roku shares rose more than 4% in early 2023, closing at $42.76 on Thursday.