Roku takes $60 million in funding, wants to be the front end for your TV

Despite its image as an underdog, Roku knows how to court some heavy hitters in the TV business: on top of a total $80 million in previous investments, it just received a $60 million boost this week. The new funding round has BSkyB and News Corp returning with checkbooks in hand, but it also includes a fresh contribution from Hearst, which wants Roku's help in building services for its TV channels. The media hub maker is getting more than partnerships in return, however. It's using the cash to expand its Roku Ready program, which now includes 24 hardware partners. The company's Anthony Wood ultimately wants Roku software to be commonplace -- it can be an "operating system for televisions," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. While there's no guarantee that Roku will reach that kind of ubiquity, it may well have the cash to get there.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: Chip Chick

Source: Hollywood Reporter