Benjamin Mullin, writing for The New York Times (gift link):

Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News and the Fox broadcast network, is buying the streaming company Roku for $22 billion, a major deal that would make the Murdoch media empire a formidable contender in the streaming wars. […]

It would give Fox Corp. a foothold in more than 100 million households that stream content using devices powered by Roku, whose distinctive black-and-purple remotes are common in living rooms around the world.

In 2024, Roku aggressively pushed a Terms of Service update that locked customers out of their devices until they agreed to the change, tested full-screen start-up ads in 2025, and a recently filed class-action lawsuit accuses the company of intentionally bricking its TVs via software updates. My (thankfully limited) experience with Roku was marred by crummy software and sluggish hardware.

It’s the perfect vessel for the sludge Fox “News” peddles.

Mr. Murdoch and Anthony Wood, Roku’s chief executive, explained the deal during a question-and-answer session with analysts on Monday, but investors didn’t seem immediately convinced. Fox’s stock fell 14 percent in morning trading.

Nobody buys a Roku device because they’re good. They buy them because they’re cheap and lack taste. Ditto this acquisition.