Roku wants to create its own original “episodic and feature productions”, according to a recent (and now closed) mailing list posted by the company (via Protocol). The mailing list mentions Roku’s ‘expansion of original content’.
Roku currently has no content of its own. It now owns Quibi’s range of programs it acquired from the sacked streaming business, and also offers The Roku Channel, an ad-supported service that allows users to watch a wide range of TV shows, movies, live news and more – but we still have no shows seen made by Roku himself.
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However, the job offer suggests that Roku is looking to produce content – something its hardware competitors such as Amazon and Apple have already done. Hosting its own shows can give users the reason to spend more time on their Roku devices, which in turn can help further increase the company’s advertising revenue, even if users are not watching the programs.
The company’s potential shows and movies will compete with a large catalog of original articles from other streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus and Hulu. But unlike the heavyweights that are currently streaming, Roku sells devices that bring all the services together, so while Roku technically goes head to head with the other companies, its users will also watch WandaVision on a Roku box. The convenient customer experience remains important – even if Roku occasionally sticks out its head at streaming providers.
It’s probably worth noting that it may take a while before you see a Roku show. If the company now only hires production lawyers, the process is probably still at an early stage. However, it shows how much value Roku sees in bringing original content to the table.