• Loading stock data...
Thursday, September 4, 2025
Fox Analyst and Media Entrepreneur Greg Olsen to Speak at Tuned In Get your ticket now!

Inside Roku’s Big Bet on Sports

  • The media company is making sports a priority.
  • Roku president of media Charlie Collier spoke at the Tuned In event in New York.
An image of Roku Media president Charlie Collier speaking at a conference.
Mason Burgin – Front Office Sports

Roku is all in on sports.

The technology company in millions of homes across the country has expanded recently into more sports programming, producing Sunday morning MLB games on The Roku Channel for the first time this season. And even when it doesn’t have the rights, Roku still wants to create shoulder programming and prioritize sports content on its partner platforms, the company’s president of media, Charlie Collier, said Tuesday at the Front Office Sports Tuned In event in New York.

“The whole notion of having not just the game from Major League Baseball, but the opportunity to curate a fan’s experience and have a destination that makes it easier for them, and have a fast service, it really is a very modern way of solving the baseball fragmentation problem,” Collier said.

Collier emphasized that Roku wants to make it easier for fans to find games as rights continue to splinter. He called helping partner platforms get more viewers and subscribers “a great joy,” saying the company promoted the Olympics as if it actually had the rights to air them. The company is also homing in on its own content, with Collier saying Roku’s MLB coverage is “only going to grow.”

But Collier also warned against unrestricted growth, saying he thinks consolidation is coming for the industry.

“I think it has been a pretty profound shift to watch the ‘growth at all costs’ [mentality] … shift to finding profitability,” Collier said. “And for a while there our industry forgot that growth is not an unequivocal good.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Eagles

The Death of Streameast Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

Mirror sites began popping up Thursday, the day the NFL season begins.
Michgan football
exclusive

Fox Unlikely to Let ESPN Use Big Ten Games for College Football..

The network doesn’t want to cannibalize its own rights, sources say.
Etienne

A ‘College Football RedZone’ Is an ESPN Gold Mine—in Theory

The network would have to strike new deals with its rivals.

More RedZones? 10 Burning Questions With ESPN’s Pitaro and NFL’s Schroeder

The execs behind the landmark ESPN-NFL deal sat down with FOS.

Featured Today

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) celebrate their touchdown pass during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field.

TV Ratings Just Changed Again. The NFL Will Be the Big Winner

Nielsen’s new viewership system will have a big impact on sports.
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates with offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (74) after a touchdown catch against Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20, 2025.
August 30, 2025

The Most Expensive Roster Year in College Football History

The House settlement created revenue-sharing—and a big NIL loophole.
August 26, 2025

‘You’re Going to Get Beat Up’: The Liberty’s All-Male Practice Squad

A select group suits up weekly to take on the defending champs.
August 24, 2025

The Honey Deuce Effect: How Tennis Perfected the Signature Cocktail

Sold every 1.5 seconds, they total more than $12 million in sales.

TNT Sports to Try Its Own Streaming App After WBD Split

TNT Sports will have its own app as a corporate split approaches.
September 4, 2025

Bill Belichick’s UNC Debut Draws More Than 6M Viewers on ESPN

TCU-UNC was the fifth-most-watched college football game of Week 1.
September 4, 2025

3 ABC Games Top 10M Viewers Each in ESPN’s Record CFB Weekend

Miami–Notre Dame led the way with 10.8 million viewers.
Sponsored

Trailblazer Cal Calamia Is Racing for ‘Advocacy, Storytelling, and Performance’

The marathoner wants excellence—not just inclusion—to be the goal for non-binary athletes.
September 3, 2025

Ohio State–Texas Showdown Was Most-Watched Week 1 CFB Game Ever

Fox drew 16.62 million viewers on Saturday afternoon.
September 2, 2025

NFL on Nielsen’s Latest Measurement Upgrade: ‘More Work to Be Done’

The league calls its relationship with the agency a “protracted journey.”
September 1, 2025

Lee Corso’s Farewell Delivers Record ‘College GameDay’ Viewership

ESPN averaged 3.5 million viewers, per preliminary figures.
August 28, 2025

NFL Preseason Sees 17% Jump in TV Ratings, Best Since 2018

Average audiences for the exhibition games increase sharply from last year.