Analysis
The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division said on November 6, 2026 that it has closed its investigation into Fox Corporation's roughly $22 billion acquisition of Roku, clearing the final major U.S. regulatory hurdle for a deal that would hand the Murdoch-controlled broadcaster the country's top connected-TV platform by viewing hours.
The DOJ said in its closing statement that after opening an investigation and issuing second requests to both Fox and Roku, "the transaction is not likely to result in harm to competition." As part of the review, Fox agreed to continue carrying non-Fox content on Roku's platform for at least three years -- a commitment regulators pointed to directly in deciding not to challenge the deal.
What do Fox and Roku do?
Fox's media portfolio spans the Tubi streaming service, NFL and MLB broadcast rights, and Fox News Media, according to the company's own deal announcement. Roku is, in Fox's own description, "the top television streaming platform in the U.S. by hours streamed," giving Fox a direct pipeline into connected-TV households rather than relying on third-party smart-TV operating systems to distribute its content.
“Fox's original announcement priced the deal at an enterprise value of $22 billion, structured as $160.00 per Roku share in a mix of cash and Fox stock.”
How much is Fox paying for Roku?
Fox's original announcement priced the deal at an enterprise value of $22 billion, structured as $160.00 per Roku share in a mix of cash and Fox stock. Pulse previously covered the terms of that original announcement, which came with customary closing conditions including approval from both companies' shareholders and regulators in the U.S. and several other countries. Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said the company was "executing this acquisition from a position of financial strength," while Roku co-founder Anthony Wood said the deal builds on "two decades" of work turning Roku into the leading TV streaming platform.
Why regulators let it through
Antitrust reviewers typically focus on whether a distribution owner like Fox buying a platform like Roku could be used to squeeze out rival programmers who also rely on Roku's reach. The three-year carriage commitment directly addresses that concern: it guarantees competing networks and streamers keep their current Roku distribution for a fixed window even after Fox takes control, giving the DOJ grounds to close its file without a formal consent decree or litigation.
The connected-TV land grab
The clearance lands in a connected-TV advertising market that analysts project will roughly double, from $44 billion in global revenue in 2025 to $81 billion by 2030, with Google, Amazon and Netflix together expected to command roughly half of that spend. That growth curve is exactly why a legacy broadcaster like Fox is willing to pay a premium for direct-to-TV distribution rather than cede the connected-TV ad stack entirely to Big Tech platforms and streaming-first rivals.
What the clearance doesn't guarantee
Regulatory approval isn't the same as a closed deal. Fox's own announcement still listed shareholder votes and non-U.S. regulatory sign-offs as outstanding closing conditions, and the company's original timeline pointed to a close sometime in the first half of calendar 2027. The remaining risk to the deal is procedural, not antitrust, but it's still a risk: Fox and Roku shareholders, and international regulators, have to formally sign off before the acquisition is final.
For media and adtech investors, the diligence item worth tracking is what Fox does with Roku's ad stack once the deal does close -- specifically whether the three-year carriage pledge gets extended, renegotiated, or allowed to lapse, since that single commitment is what's standing between Fox owning the leading CTV platform and Fox owning the leading CTV platform while also controlling who else gets distribution on it.
