Roku says that it has taken the lead from Samsung to become the number one selling Smart TV operating system in the US.
Roku takes lead from Samsung
Roku reported better than expected 1Q 2019 earnings results with 51% year-over-year growth in revenue ($207 million). In its earnings report, the company said that it is now leading the Smart TV segment in the US.
- "We estimate that in Q1 2019 more than one-in-three smart TVs sold in the U.S. were Roku TVs, making the Roku OS the number one selling smart TV OS in the U.S.," the company said. "Meanwhile, Q1 player unit sales were up 21% year-over-year."
The numbers remain unconfirmed at this point but seem plausible. Roku's operating system is embedded in TVs from TCL, Sharp, Hisense, Philips, Hitachi, and others.
Yesterday, Google touted some Android TV data, saying that its platform is used by 6 of the top 10 smart TV manufacturers globally. However, Android TV remains far behind Roku, Amazon FireTV, and other platforms.
Roku's TV operating system is also available in Roku streaming boxes. The company has a very strong presence in the US but has yet to enter most international markets. It now has over 29 million active user accounts that collectively streamed 8.9 billion hours of video in Q1 2019.
- "The strength of our brand, the scale of our active account base, the advantages of our purpose-built streaming OS, and the engagement of our users make Roku an increasingly important partner for content publishers, advertisers and TV manufacturers. The shift to streaming and away from linear TV and legacy distribution platforms has enormous momentum."
Also read: Roku rolls out OS 9.1 designed to make voice & text search less impartial
Roku's revenue from advertising and services is now almost double that of revenue earned from hardware at $134 million versus $72.5 million. In 2018, Roku said that it wants to turn its TV platform into a "next-generation ad platform". The company still operates at a net loss.
- Source: Roku
