It was Jingle Ball in 2002 and I saw an ad for something called Roku. I wondered what the heck it was and went home to find out. Today, Roku is a tech company and as of CES 2023 a manufacturer, too. Around this time last year, Roku told the market that rumors of them building and delivering their own smart tv was a rumor. This news came as a relief to many in the market, but at CES 2023, Roku and others introduced new smart TVs to the market.
The announcement which has Roku TVs in households like yours in the spring, includes two ranges of sets. A select and a plus line are on tap with pricing from $119 to $999.
Not sure the streaming market needs one more plus (Disney+, discovery+, Paramount+, etc.), but I digress.
In addition to Roku, Amazon recently launched its own QLED TV lineup -- in addition to maintaining partnerships with brands such as Toshiba and Pioneer. They come with cool features that integrate with Alexa. The Fire TV Omni and 4 Series are sold exclusively at Amazon and Best Buy, while Fire TVs from their partners are sold in other outlets. Amazon pricing takes aim at Samsung and VIZIO.
XUMO, a streaming joint venture between Comcast and Charter, plans to launch a new line of UHD 4K smart TVs in the U.S. this year from Element Electronics. Xumo didn't disclose details about sizes or pricing, other than to say it will offer "a range" of Element Xumo TVs at select U.S. retail locations later in 2023. The TVs will come with a voice remote, along with Comcast's integrated interface, providing access to live and on-demand streaming content "from hundreds of apps and services."
Why Does It Matter?
Clearly the future of the streaming wars will be fought in devices, data and advertising. As data privacy changes take hold, the owner of the consumer account (PII for targeting) has the best chance at winning. With Google, Apple, Comcast NBC, Roku, Amazon and others in the race, grab some popcorn and watch the battle heat up.
Samsung and LG, past leaders in the glass space which have walled off their data only for their customers, have been met by VIZIO, which makes data available for measurement more ubiquitously.
Amazon, Apple and Google are fighting to own sports rights.
The player that owns more of the data, owns more consumers, and does not wall off their marketplace is likely to win this war. Some great content, like NFL rights or great originals, can only help.
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