Update to our customers: Preserving consumer choice and fair competition in TV streaming​

Updated 12/8/21 at 9:00 AM ET: Effective today, we have agreed to a multi-year extension with Google for YouTube and YouTube TV. This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, making both YouTube and YouTube TV available for all streamers on the Roku platform.

Updated 10/21/21 at 4:00 PM ET: Shortly after we posted this update to our customers and raised concerns about their anticompetitive conduct, Google notified us that, unless we reach agreement on renewal terms prior to the expiration of our current agreement, we will not be able to offer YouTube on the Roku platform for new users.  While not surprising, this kind of blatant retaliation and monopoly conduct is likely why the U.S. Department of Justice and 30 State Attorneys General are investigating Google for violating fair competition laws.  Google’s actions are designed to stifle competition and harm consumers which is why there is broad bipartisan support in Congress today to rein in monopoly abuses. We will continue to try to keep YouTube (and YouTube TV) available for Roku customers, and will provide updates as appropriate.

Our mission at Roku is to connect and benefit the entire TV streaming ecosystem. Since our founding, we have had a relentless focus on the user experience, providing free and affordable content to millions of customers. We are proud that our commitment to delivering an exceptional user experience has made Roku America’s #1 TV streaming platform, based on hours streamed.​

As an independent company, we have invested in streaming innovations that enable great viewing and access to endless options of creative content from thousands of content partners.

​These partners include every aspect of the media landscape today, from local news and community access channels, to channels offered by large media companies and networks. Content available on our platform includes TV streaming services that are owned and operated by some of the most powerful tech companies in the world who also sell their own competing streaming devices.

​With nearly every media company embracing the “streaming decade,” consumers stand to be the real winners. The best content partnerships today are built around mutually beneficial terms and are usually renewed through orderly negotiations without any disruption to the user experience. We believe that successful industry partnerships are based on a few core, shared goals:​

• An unrivaled streaming experience for customers;​
• Access to an enormous selection of free or affordable choices;​
• Transparency about the collection and use of consumer data; and, ​
• Mutually beneficial financial terms that enable continued growth and innovation​

​This is how we try to connect and benefit the entire TV streaming ecosystem.  ​

​Recently we have seen a disturbing trend that threatens the vibrant and competitive TV streaming ecosystem. Rather than embracing a mutually beneficial partnership approach, some Big Tech enterprises are using their market power to extend control over independent businesses, like Roku, to benefit their broader business objectives at the expense of the consumer, putting a fair and open competitive streaming marketplace at risk.  ​

​This is unfortunately the case Roku and numerous other independent companies now face with Google, which is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and more than 30 State Attorneys General for violating competition laws. Doing business with an enterprise as powerful as Google creates complex challenges. Google, the world’s largest search engine and advertising platform, also owns YouTube which is both the world’s second largest search engine and the world’s largest video sharing service. Since April, we have been working to renew our partnership with Google to continue to offer YouTube TV to our shared customers, and we made a commitment to keep the YouTube TV service available to existing YouTube TV users while we attempt to resolve our concerns. ​

​Importantly, our concerns with Google are not about money. We have not asked for a single change in the financial terms of our existing agreement. In fact, Roku does not earn a single dollar from YouTube’s ad supported video sharing service today, whereas Google makes hundreds of millions of dollars from the YouTube app on Roku.  ​

​There are two primary concerns we are working to address: First, Google continues to interfere with Roku’s independent search results, requiring that we preference YouTube over other content providers. This is a concern shared by many companies who believe that customers deserve neutral and relevant results to their search queries. Second, Google discriminates against Roku by demanding search, voice, and data features that they do not insist on from other streaming platforms. ​

​While we are working to resolve our differences, we want to be transparent about these negotiations. As we shared in April, the threat remains that Google may remove YouTubeTV from the Roku platform. We continue to believe that streamers stand to benefit from Google and Roku reaching a fair agreement and we remain committed to trying to achieve that goal. For Roku, this is about maintaining our independence, protecting our customers, and ensuring healthy competition in the streaming industry that benefits millions of consumers. As we have future updates on this matter, we plan to share them. You can follow Roku on this blog or on Twitter @RokuNewsroom.​