Yahoo Finance ROKU Onboards Brands From Qurate Retail on the Roku Channel
Roku ROKU recently announced that the Roku Channel has launched QVC and HSN from Qurate Retail QRTEA as the first livestream shopping channel.
Both brands, which are the leaders in video commerce, will offer 40 hours of live programming on channels via broadcast networks, websites, mobile applications and social pages.
They will also feature premier brands and new products presented by celebrities, influencers and other interesting personalities who engage with customers in real-time on multiple platforms.
The entertaining and engaging livestream shopping experiences will not just give the existing customers of Roku access to vcommerce but will also bring a new customer base from QVC and HSN on board.
How is the Roku Channel Gaining Traction?
Roku is benefiting from strong momentum in the Roku Channel, which witnessed 90% year-over-year growth in streaming hours in third-quarter fiscal 2022.
It successfully launched the Roku Channel in Mexico a while ago, which indicates good international progress.
Roku, Inc. Price and Consensus
Roku, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Roku, Inc. Quote
Roku recently announced a broad expansion of its linear channel that includes Spanish-language local news programming from NBC Universal Telemundo and genre-specific programming from AMC Networks on the AMC Showcase Channel, which will feature popular series like Mad Men and The Walking Dead.
The Roku Channel became the exclusive AVOD partner for the Adult Swim Festival, a three-part special featuring performances by headliners Run The Jewels, Tierra Whack and Dethklok from the live event, which took place in Philadelphia in August 2022.
The Roku Channel is introducing channels dedicated to the food and lifestyle icons like The Great British Baking Show Channel and The Block to enjoy authentic stories that inspire and celebrate Black culture.
It added 29 new movies back in October, including The Sandlot, John Wick and The Hulk, and another 27 movies are joining the library in November, some of which are War of the Worlds, Lethal Weapon, Office Space and Wall Street.
This strong pipeline of content and upcoming feature enhancements is expected to aid the company’s top line. Roku anticipates revenues in fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 to rise to $800 million.
Roku Faces Major Headwinds
Despite focusing on the expansion of the Roku Channel, the company has been facing curtailed spending by advertisers due to macroeconomic factors and consumer spending, as well as being pressured by inflation and overall economic uncertainty. The company expects this threat to persist in the upcoming quarters as well and since the Roku channel’s revenues are solely dependent on ads, it might hurt its top line.
It also faces immense competition from existing local traditional pay-TV services and products, including those provided by incumbent pay-TV service providers and mobile streaming platforms.
Roku, which currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), has lost 74.1% of its share price year to date compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary Sector, which declined 34.5% in the same time frame.
Roku also faces stiff competition from Netflix NFLX and Disney DIS, which have extensive content portfolios and strong brand identities.
Netflix was down 48.5% whereas Disney lost 38.3% year to date. Both Disney and Netflix are set to launch their ad-tier subscriptions for customers by the end of this year. This low-cost subscription is expected to gain traction with consumers.
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