New Ultra Model Helps Roku Reach 85 Million Streaming Households
New Ultra Model Helps Roku Reach 85 Million Streaming Households
Roku had its first billion-dollar quarter in Q3, which also saw the launch of the new Roku Ultra.
There’s no two ways about it: Roku had a very good third quarter of 2024. On Wednesday, Roku revealed in its quarterly earnings report that it had brought in more than $1 billion in revenue for the first time. Key metrics for the company were all up, including average revenue per user (ARPU) and streaming households.
Key Details:
- Roku grew to 85.5 million streaming households during the quarter.
- Streaming hours on The Roku Channel were up 80% year-over-year.
- The third quarter saw the launch of the new Roku Ultra model.
The third quarter of 2024 saw Roku increase its reach to 85.5 million streaming households, a jump of 1.9 million over the previous quarter when it had 83.6 million. Total streaming hours for the company continued to climb, coming in at 32 billion, up 20% year-over-year. This metric looks at all of the time spent streaming across all platforms on Roku smart TVs and streaming devices.
Zooming in specifically on the company’s free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel, The Roku Channel, streaming hours were up 80% year-over-year. Roku did not reveal how many monthly active users The Roku Channel has, so it’s hard to know if it is beating the 88 million that Samsung TV Plus recently announced it had during Q3. Starting in the first quarter of 2025, Roku says it will no longer regularly report streaming households or average revenue per user (ARPU), though it will update when it hits certain milestones like 100 million streaming homes. Instead, Roku will focus on other metrics including total streaming hours, platform revenue, and other financial indicators.
Speaking of ARPU, Roku’s ticked up from $40.68 to $41.10, a clear gain over Q2, but flat year-over-year. The quarter also saw the launch of the new, 2024 model of Roku Ultra, which comes with a quad-core processor, a new remote, Wi-Fi 6 capability and more upgrades.
The Roku operating system continues to be No. 1 in the United States, as Roku-powered TV sets outsold the No. 2 and No. 3-most-popular operating systems combined. The Roku OS was also the top seller in Canada and Mexico.
The Roku Channel’s viewing hours during the quarter were no doubt augmented by the return of major sports programming surrounding NFL football and other events. The streamer consolidated much of its sports programming onto a single channel during the quarter for easier fan access, and also brought back its NFL Zone programming hub.
Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is a free, ad-supported streaming service that offers a broad mix of movies, TV shows, live linear channels, and original programming. Available to all viewers — not just Roku device owners — the service features licensed content from major studios alongside Roku Originals, which include exclusive series, movies, and specials previously produced for Quibi, as well as new original projects developed specifically for the platform.