ROKU SURPASSES 51.2 MILLION ACTIVE ACCOUNTS

Roku, Inc. announced that it reached 51.2 million active accounts by the end of 2020. The increase was first noted at the end of 2019 with 36.9 million and 2016 with 13.4 million. “I’m excited that more than 50 million households now turn to Roku for their TV viewing,” CEO Anthony Wood said. “The world is moving to stream and we look forward to continuing to help viewers, advertisers, content publishers, and TV manufacturers succeed in the Streaming Decade.”

According to Roku’s preliminary estimated data, its users collectively watched 17 billion streaming hours during the fourth quarter of 2020 for a total of 58.7 billion hours in 2020, a year-over-year increase of 55% for both the quarter and the full year. Roku expects to report Q4 2020 financial results in February.

Last November, Roku reported having 46 million active accounts at the end of the third quarter. The conglomerate is now considered a major gatekeeper of streaming in the U.S. alongside Amazon, which announced that it reached over 50 million active users on its Fire TV streaming platform last month. The 51.2 million accounts at year-end represent a 5.2 million increase from Q3, serving as Roku’s biggest quarterly user growth to date.

The company estimated that 61.8 million U.S. viewers had access to the free, ad-supported Roku Channel in the fourth quarter of 2020, roughly doubling year over year. Roku is reportedly close to clinching a deal to acquire the streaming rights to Quibi’s original shows. Roku also revealed the most-searched-for entertainment titles of 2020 by month on its platform. Overall, perennial holiday fave “Elf” starring Will Ferrell was the No. 1 title search last year on Roku, while Adam Sandler was the most-searched person in 2020. Paramount Network’s hit drama series “Yellowstone,” also available on Peacock Premium, was at the top of the list from June-September.