Roku Reports Increase of 2.3 Million Active Accounts, Nearly 27 Billion Streaming Hours During Q3 2023
[The Roku Channel] enjoyed another good quarter, according to company officials who spoke to Wall Street analysts to discuss its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, Nov. 1. According to the report, The Roku Channel now has 75.8 million active accounts, an increase of 2.5M from the 73.5 million users it claimed at the end of the second quarter and a 16% year-over-year improvement.
The company also saw 26.7 billion hours streamed during the quarter. That’s an increase of 1.6B over Q2, when the streamer hit 25.1 billion hours. The total streaming hours represent a 22% increase over the corresponding quarter in 2022.
Roku reported that the company’s total net revenue increased 20% year-over-year to hit $912 million, thanks to content distribution and advertising, along with the sales of Roku-branded TVs. In terms of the on-platform revenue, that increased 18% YoY to hit $787 million. However, despite the positive growth on most fronts, Roku reported an average revenue per user (ARPU) at $41.03, down 7% from Q3 2022.
Has Roku Channel Made any Deals or Introduced New Features Recently?
The Roku Channel made one big deal in the quarter, agreeing to terms with the Miss Universe pageant to be the host of that competition for multiple years to come. The pageant first streamed on Roku in 2023, when it became the most-watched live event in the history of the service.
Among the new features available to Roku Channel users is an NFL content hub called “NFL Zone,” which was first launched in September. NFL Zone offers users one easy-to-find hub that shows them which streaming app or TV channel they can use to watch live upcoming games. The Zone also features highlights from around the league, weekly matchup previews, and houses both the NFL app and the NFL free ad-supported TV (FAST) channel.
Earlier in October, Roku announced new features would be rolled out in the coming months to make content discovery easier. The updates will be seen across the Sports, Live TV, What to Watch, Music Playlists, Roku Photo Streams sections of the platform, as well as in other locations.
Roku took some measures to cut costs around the company this quarter, including the removal of old Quibi shows from The Roku Channel. As streaming services prioritize profitability, cuts like this have become a common way for providers to attempt to bring costs down.
What New Free Channels Are Available on Roku?
Roku brought on dozens of new free channels to stream this quarter. The additions began in August when the service launched more than 40 new channels including regional news from CBS and Fox, more sports options and content from the popular YouTuber Mr. Beast. The same week, NBCUniversal channels featuring classic TV, movies and more were added to the platform.
Just this week, Roku supplemented its channel offerings even further by adding 17 new channels, with highlights including Fox Sports and even more kids programming.
Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is a free live TV streaming service that provides 350+ live linear streaming channels and more than 80,000 free movies and TV shows. The library contains entertainment from several different decades, including some major hits.