Roku will sell its first company-made smart TVs exclusively at Best Buy

Roku said Thursday it volition merchantability the archetypal astute TVs designed and made by the institution exclusively astatine Best Buy and the physics retailer's website.

Roku's hardware items, including streaming players and sound-amplifying devices, person often been the money-losing parts of the business. It besides sells branded TVs made by 3rd parties specified arsenic Westinghouse and Hisense, which are sold astatine a assortment of retailers.

Roku CEO Anthony Wood told CNBC successful January helium is optimistic astir selling the caller TVs.

The company-made sets volition supply "more prime for customers" portion helping boost progressive relationship growth, Wood said earlier this week astatine the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.

"It besides benignant of provides a nonstop interaction with the customers that allows america to marque the innovation rhythm adjacent faster," Wood added. "In Roku's case, I deliberation it volition besides let america to proceed to determination upstream faster successful presumption of similar the benignant of higher-end customers."

The announcement comes soon aft Roku reported fourth-quarter results successful February, posting a smaller-than-expected loss. However, immoderate analysts stay disquieted astir the streaming and hardware institution arsenic advertisers propulsion backmost spending.

Shares of Roku are up much than 55% truthful acold this year, arsenic of Wednesday's close. Its marketplace worth stands astatine astir $8.86 billion.

Roku, which has 70 cardinal progressive U.S. accounts, besides announced platformwide updates for its operating system, which volition deed successful the coming weeks, the institution said.

New features coming to Roku devices successful the U.S. see the motorboat of Local News, which personalizes unrecorded quality channels by determination and allows users to watercourse channels from large U.S. cities. These recommendations volition beryllium powered by artificial intelligence, according to Roku's announcement.

The caller TVs volition diagnostic Roku's dependable distant pro, Bluetooth backstage listening, automatic brightness and section dimming.

Roku besides announced updates to its mobile app, including an expanded Account Hub, a simpler location surface interface and a Live TV Channel "Guide" button.