CES 2016: A Big Year Ahead for Roku TV

It’s that time of year again when hundreds of thousands of people descend upon Las Vegas to see the latest and greatest in technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). It was at CES just two years ago where we unveiled Roku TV, a smart TV platform we license to TV OEMs with the goal of providing our TV partners with a cost-effective solution to build the best smart TVs in the industry using the Roku OS. Our news at this year’s CES is just as exciting as we’ve announced the first 4K UHD Roku TV models, a new Roku TV HDR reference design, and the first Roku TVs for consumers in Mexico.

If you need a bit of a refresher, Roku TVs combine the simple, personalized home screen, 3,000+ streaming channels and powerful search and discovery features of the Roku OS with our TV OEM partners’ sleek hardware designs and affordable prices. We are very pleased with the success of Roku TV since we first unveiled the program – the reception from consumers and press has been tremendous! In fact, 2015 was the first full year of Roku TV shipments and we grew from roughly zero smart TV market share to approximately 8%* in the U.S.; and as we closed out 2015, there were more than one million Roku TVs in the homes of consumers.

4K UHD

Beginning this spring, consumers will be able to purchase the first 4K UHD Roku TVs that combine the full Roku TV experience with the beautiful picture and detail of 4K UHD resolution. Much like the recently launched Roku 4 streaming player, 4K UHD Roku TV models will help consumers easily find entertainment with access to one of the largest lineups of 4K UHD streaming channels available on a smart TV and unique features such as the 4K Spotlight Channel. TCL, the fastest growing TV brand in America, is the first Roku TV partner to announce a 4K UHD Roku TV, with multiple models expected to hit store shelves later this quarter. 4K UHD TVs from additional Roku TV partners are expected to be available this year.

HDR reference design

We are releasing the Roku TV HDR reference design for TV partners to incorporate HDR technology into future 4K UHD Roku TV models. We are working closely with Dolby® to implement support for Dolby Vision™ HDR into the reference design, which also includes support for the HDR 10 standard. TCL will be an initial TV partner to integrate the Roku TV HDR reference design.

More Roku TV models, plus more regions

In 2015, nearly 40 Roku TV models were available from five TV OEM partners including Haier, Hisense, Insignia, Sharp and TCL with models ranging in size from 28” to 65”. Entering 2016, Roku TV is well positioned for growth as our Roku TV OEM partners expect to introduce 60 new Roku TV models. Roku TV availability is also expanding into more countries with Roku TVs expected to hit store shelves in Mexico in the first half of 2016. This international expansion follows the successful spring 2015 launch of Roku TV in Canada with models available from both Insignia and Sharp.

2015 was an incredible year for Roku TV. The success of the program and its continued momentum are bringing us closer to our ultimate goal of the Roku OS powering every TV! We’re excited to kick-off 2016 with some great CES announcements and can’t wait to see what’s in store for Roku TV this year.

Happy Streaming!

^{*Based on smart TV retail sell-in data from IHS and Roku data}