Roku and its hardware partners plan to release almost 60 new smart TVs in this year alone with hopes of acceleration adoption. The company has already shipped about one million TV sets to consumers and plans to sell more.
With about an 8 percent share of the smart TV market, Roku has brought its branded TV sets back to the CES 2016. And this year, the company behind the original "Netflix box" is betting big on 4K UltraHD.
Like past models, Roku is licensing its smart TV platform to original equipment manufacturers so that they can build 4K TVs. The OEMs will then use the provided reference designs that support High Dynamic Range (HDR) as a foundation for their own version, but with the Roku software.
About two years into its TV licensing program, Roku announced in its expansion plan (PDF) that consumer engagement and response has been "tremendous."
"We expect momentum for Roku TV to accelerate as we continue efforts to add new TV partners while expanding our work with existing partners to bring many more Roku TV models to the U.S., Canada and soon Mexico," says Chas Smith, general manager of OEM for Roku.
Roku is after the smart TV market, which is expected to grow by about 20 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by volume from 2015 to 2019, according to a Research and Markets study published last summer. Moreover, the forecast indicates that the market revenues will grow by a CAGR of about eight percent over that same period.
"One key trend emerging in the market is an increased adoption of smart TVs in advertising, which helps advertisers in expanding their consumer base," says the Research and Markets report. "With the help of smart TVs, advertisers can grab the attention of viewers by posting attractive advertisements such as multi-screen advertisements and interactive advertisements."
The report also says that the key vendors to keep an eye on over the next few years include Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and LG. While Apple was listed as one of other prominent vendors to watch.
Here's what you can expect from #RokuTV this year! Read our news from #CES2016: https://t.co/ChbxwTTesu #CES pic.twitter.com/Q8yjcCjAxs
— Roku (@RokuPlayer) January 4, 2016
