• by Wayne Friedman , January 7, 2025

Streaming distribution service Roku is now in 90 million North American households -- and is in nearly half of all U.S. broadband households.

Overall, Anthony Wood, founder and CEO, of Roku, in a release says the platform has “more engagement than any other TV OS [operating system] platform in the U.S.” The households consist of homes in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

The growth overdelivered on one analyst estimate, which expected the company to get to 88 to 89 million homes by the end of the fourth quarter.

At the same time, Daniel Kurnos, media analyst for Benchmark, says the growth may seem misleading. “We understand that the counter argument will likely center on the concept that the upside is probably coming more from lesser monetized international subs,” he says.

It's “incrementally harder to argue against Roku's growing reach,” he adds.

Kurnos also believes Roku can add even more accounts in the first quarter of 2025. “We could ostensibly see a greater increase in net adds year over year, likely thanks to success in the Roku-branded TV offering.”

This all represents some strong news for the company, which has seen sharp increases in Nielsen’s total TV viewing measure for the company of late. The Roku Channel jumped 10% in July to a 1.6 share.

Roku's stock market pricing could also see another bump, says Kurnos, after some rumors about potential merger discussions in recent periods.