SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) is making your TV better than ever, with more ways to personalize and elevate your viewing experience. Over the next few months, Roku is introducing Backdrops, Roku Smart Picture, and updates across browse, discovery, and the mobile app across all U.S. devices. Plus, cars will be hitting the roads of Roku City, bringing our iconic digital downtown to life even more. Today’s updates further demonstrate Roku’s commitment to providing a best-in-class TV streaming experience.
“We want our platform to be relevant to how you watch TV, whether you purchased a device today or years ago,” said Preston Smalley, Vice President of Viewer Product at Roku. “With personalized Backdrops to suit your mood, Smart Picture for crystal-clear visuals, and better ways to help decide what to watch, we’re setting a new standard for streaming excellence. This is the future of TV, tailored just for you by Roku.”
Turn your TV into a masterpiece with Backdrops
The state of your TV can shift the mood of your home. Research* shows that 86% of TV buyers want a TV that fits in seamlessly with their decor. Roku’s new feature Backdrops instantly transforms your TV into a work of art and makes it the centerpiece of the house. Simply browse through a wide catalog of free delightful artwork, including famous classics, museum collections, abstract designs, and more, and choose the art to update the vibe of your room. Users can select their favorite artwork or easily upload digital art or family photos to curate their very own collection to display.
Get the best picture quality automatically with Roku Smart Picture
A Harris Poll survey commissioned by Roku** shows that about 91% of smart TV viewers don’t adjust picture settings often as they watch different types of content, such as sports or movies. Yet 70% of smart TV buyers say picture quality is a key feature when purchasing a TV***. With Roku Smart Picture, you can get the best picture quality for your Roku TV device without having to change the settings. As apps stream, Roku Smart Picture adjusts the backlighting, uniformity, and colors based on the type of TV. Additionally, Roku Smart Picture automatically optimizes the brightness and colors and selects the best picture mode—i.e., sports, movies, vivid, and standard—for the content you’re watching, offering a better TV viewing experience.
Cars are hitting the roads of Roku City
Roku City is TV’s biggest and most beloved digital downtown that on average reaches more than 40 million active accounts every month****. According to internal Roku data***** two in three Roku users would take a trip to Roku City if offered. Today, we’re excited to announce we're bringing TV and movie cars to the streets of Roku City. From an ice cream truck to a secret agent’s favorite sports car, these dynamic additions will add a new layer of Easter egg fun to your screen. Vehicles will change, keeping you guessing and bringing your favorite city to life like never before.
Take browse and discovery to the next level with:
- IMDb ratings: In the coming weeks, you can expect to see IMDb ratings across entertainment details pages, keeping you in the know on what peers have rated TV shows and movies before you dive in. Plus, we’re also populating a new row within What to Watch that will feature highly rated IMDb titles, so users can tune in with ease.
- Trailers: With trailers coming to entertainment details pages across the platform, you can seamlessly preview TV shows or movies, allowing you to feel confident in your selection.
- Save List Updates: We’ve made your Save List even smarter. Now, when a TV show or movie on your Save List drops in price or when new seasons or episodes are available, we'll let you know with badge updates right on the entertainment tile, bringing titles that may have been at the end of your list right to the front.
Your ultimate companion is the Roku Mobile App
As an extension of the Roku streaming experience, the Roku Mobile app helps you discover new content, control your TV, launch apps, and so much more. Updates to the app include:
- New navigation bar: Users will now be able to browse between five universal tabs: Home, Search, Remote, Devices, and Account.
- Top Searched TV and Movies: With the all-new “Top Searched TV and Movies” row, you can scroll through what’s popular with other streamers and tune in. The row will be populated with daily searched TV shows and movies from across the platform.
- Search updates: With a full keyboard, searching has never been easier, and now the results will be more visually immersive while you search or browse through new categories, actors, and other topics.
Availability
All software updates will be available to Roku users in the coming months. Roku Smart Picture is coming to all Roku TV models. Any Roku-branded TV purchased in the spring of 2024 and onward will come with Roku Smart Picture as the default, and those purchased before that date will need to enable it (in picture settings).
OS 13 will roll out to all supported devices in the U.S. in the coming months. Image assets can be found here. Release notes can be found here.
*US Premium TV Buyer Survey, April 2022
**2023 Smart TV Study, The Harris Poll, research commissioned by Roku, November 2023
***Recent Smart TV Buyer Tracker, Wave 1 Report Q1 2023
**** Average Monthly Reach Q4 2023
***** Roku City Research via Qualtrics, February 2023
About Roku, Inc.
Roku pioneered streaming on TV. We connect users to the content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku TV™ models, Roku streaming players, and TV-related audio devices are available in various countries around the world through direct retail sales and/or licensing arrangements with TV OEM brands. Roku-branded TVs and Roku Smart Home products are sold exclusively in the United States. Roku also operates The Roku Channel, the home of free and premium entertainment with exclusive access to Roku Originals. The Roku Channel is available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., U.S.A.
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited to those related to the availability, features, functionality, and attributes of the Roku TV program, our commitment to providing best-in-class TV streaming, and the features and benefits of the Roku platform. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports Roku, Inc. files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Roku’s website and are available from Roku without charge.
Roku and Roku TV are trademarks or registered trademarks of Roku, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries. Trade names, trademarks, and service marks of other companies appearing in this press release are the property of their respective holders.
