Roku has entered into an agreement to acquire Frndly TV for $185 million in cash.
The deal, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter, includes $75 million held back that is tied to meeting performance goals and milestones over the next two years.
Founded in 2019, the Denver-based streaming service offers subscribers access to more than 50 top-rated live TV channels, including A&E, Hallmark Channel, The History Channel, Lifetime and more, as well as thousands of hours of on-demand content, for $6.99 per month. It also offers unlimited cloud-based DVR, as well as access to any show or movie that has aired in the past 72 hours on live channels.
“Frndly TV’s impressive growth and expertise in direct-to-consumer subscription services make it a compelling addition to Roku,” Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood said on Thursday. “This acquisition supports our focus on growing platform revenue and Roku-billed subscriptions, with a live content offering our users love at an industry-leading price point.”
Frndly TV’s leadership and team will remain on after the deal. As part of the deal, Frndly TV will be available on Roku, and will continue to be accessible across all platforms and devices where it’s currently available, including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV, Apple TV, Samsung and Vizio, as well as across web and on mobile, both Android and iOS.
“We’re incredibly excited to join Roku and continue our mission to provide customers feel-good, quality entertainment as the most affordable live TV subscription streaming service in America,” Frndly TV CEO and co-founder Andy Karofsky added. “Roku’s pioneering role in streaming and its longstanding commitment to customers aligns perfectly with our strategic vision. We believe this combination will help us accelerate subscription growth, given the alignment in core customer demographics and Roku’s leadership position in the connected TV ecosystem.”
The news comes as Roku reported their earnings results for the first quarter of 2025 on Thursday, which saw the streamer tally up 35.8 billion total streaming hours during the quarter, up 5.1 billion hours year-over-year. Roku’s reported revenue for the quarter was $1.02 billion, up 16% year-over-year.
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