Roku CEO explains why the company is launching its own line of TVs

Roku is counting connected its increasing user basal beyond 70 cardinal customers arsenic it launches its ain enactment of televisions, CEO Anthony Wood told CNBC connected Thursday.

The streaming institution unveiled its caller enactment of televisions, Roku Select and Roku Plus Series, Wednesday during the Consumer Electronics Show.

Roku has sold hardware items successful the past, similar sound-amplifying devices and streaming players, though they person often been the money-losing parts of its business. Still, Wood is optimistic astir selling the caller TVs.

"We make billions of dollars a twelvemonth successful gross from advertising, from distributing streaming services and we person a large level to bash that, but the halfway of that concern is the marketplace stock of our platform," said Wood.

It volition merchantability 11 TV models ranging from 24 to 75 inches, which volition beryllium disposable for acquisition successful the spring. Prices volition beryllium betwixt $119 to $999.

Roku's committedness to hardware comes aft a pugnacious twelvemonth that saw its banal autumn 80%, forcing the institution to chopped costs successful areas similar advertizing and jobs.

The institution tightened its 4th fourth guidance successful November, projecting $800 cardinal successful revenue, a much than 7% alteration twelvemonth implicit year. Weeks later, the institution announced it was cutting astir 200 jobs, oregon 5% of its workforce. It besides reined successful its advertizing expenses successful an effort to slim margins.

"If you look astatine our wide advertisement business, evidently the manufacture is hurting close now," said Wood, though helium noted that advertizing successful streaming is increasing faster than accepted tv advertising.

But Wood is staying hopeful, banking connected the momentum of the streaming manufacture astatine large.

"Roku streaming hours were 87 cardinal hours of streaming past year" said Wood. "That was up 19% twelvemonth implicit year. The satellite is moving to streaming. All TV is going to beryllium streamed, that means each TV advertizing is going to beryllium streamed."

So far, Roku's streaming exertion has been usable done TVs made by manufacturers Hisense, TCL, Philips, JVC and others. By introducing its ain tv line, it volition vie with those precise partners.

Shares of Roku are up much than 4% successful the aboriginal going of 2023.