Roku said it has surpassed Samsung as the No. 1 supplier of smart TV operating system software in the U.S. and Canada.
“Roughly one in three TVs sold in the U.S. and Canada is running the Roku operating system,” said Steven Louden, speaking at the Citi 2021 Global TMT West Virtual Conference Wednesday.
Roku has made that one-in-three claim before. However, sometime in the third quarter, the company—which licenses its OS to 15 OEM brands, including No. 2 U.S. smart TV seller TCL—surpassed No. 1 smart TV seller Samsung in terms of sheer OS distribution, according to what it said is NPD Group ranking data.
Roku said 38% of smart TVs sold in the U.S. are powered by its OS, while the number stands at 31% in Canada ... eh.
“We’ve gone from no market share to No. 1 in five years, and we’re making tremendous progress in Mexico,” Louden added.
Roku is also seeking to expand its sound bar technology, announcing a new reference design for the OEM market.
The reference design uses Roku’s proprietary audio technology to connect wirelessly with any Roku-powered smart TV model, offering audio and video synchronization. It will also seeks to ensure simple set-up and easy operation with one Roku TV remote.
Roku also announced that Element will launch a sound bar and subwoofer later this month enabled with Roku TV Ready, a partnership program designed to ensure simple setup, easy access to sound settings, and compatibility with Roku TV remotes. Element joins TCL, Hisense, Enclave, Sound United and Bose, which all released Roku TV Ready-certified audio products in the U.S. in 2020. Roku aims to expand the availability of Roku TV Ready program internationally and will announce partners and products by country at a later stage.
