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With Roku, Murdoch’s Fox May Have Found the Smarter Way to Win Streaming

Rather than trying to outspend Netflix or Disney on programming, Fox is betting that the real money is in owning the route viewers take to streaming.

When you turn on your television, how do you decide what to watch first? YouTube, Netflix and Disney are among the most popular individual video platforms. But the growing answer dictating your TV selections may very well be Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV. Why? Because these companies are controlling distribution, not just content programming. All three operating systems house the streaming services and apps we use daily. That’s what makes Fox’s acquisition of Roku so compelling. It’s a bet one level up from the streaming wars. Rather than competing directly with Netflix, Disney and HBO Max, Lachlan Murdoch is moving to own the monetizable distribution layer of entertainment alongside Amazon and Apple. 

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Earlier in the streaming wars, individual services fought over content. Everyone wanted the biggest shows that built the largest subscriber bases. Netflix’s Stranger Things, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys—breakout originals that attracted new customers........

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