Roku’s Winning Strategy: Embracing the Uncool Factor
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About a decade ago, someone remarked that Roku was just “cheap hardware for Walmart customers in flyover states.” It was meant as a jab, suggesting the company prioritized profit margins over innovation and design. However, as Roku has grown into a streaming powerhouse, reaching over 100 million households last month, I’ve come to realize that its true strength lies in its willingness to embrace being unpretentious.
Take the new homescreen that started rolling out this week. It’s a long-overdue update that, while minimal, is likely to resonate well with users.
Content-first, but not overwhelming
Streaming device makers have long championed content-first user interfaces. The idea is simple: viewers don’t want to sift through endless app icons and thumbnails to find something to watch. Instead, content-first designs present personalized recommendations right on the homescreen, making it easier to dive into shows without wasting time.
Amazon pioneered this approach with its Fire TV devices over a decade ago, followed by Google with Android TV and later Google TV. Nowadays, nearly every smart TV platform features some form of content-first interface. Until now, Roku was the notable exception, maintaining a straightforward list of app icons with only a few content categories added over time.
This week, Roku is changing that, but in a way that feels distinctly Roku. “I don’t think ours looks like those others,” says Preston Smalley, Roku’s VP of viewer product who led the redesign. “Yes, it has content on it. Yes, it has a destination that you can browse, but I think it still stands apart as something unique.”
While competitors often showcase large hero images and autoplay trailers, Roku’s new homescreen features a compact “top picks for you” section, followed by rows of tiles resembling the classic Roku layout: apps, destinations, and shows arranged neatly, with a retractable sidebar and space for ads. It may seem familiar and even a bit dull, but it’s less distracting than the bold interfaces of Fire TV and Google TV, making it comfortable for existing Roku users.
The evolution of cord-cutting
Roku has been at the forefront of a significant trend: while some competitors sought to cozy up to cable companies, Roku embraced cord-cutting from the start. The company recognized early on that many users were looking to save money, pricing its hardware accordingly and partnering with budget brands like TCL to expand into smart TVs. Roku has also heavily invested in free, ad-supported TV.
Roku executives foresaw the inevitable conclusion of this trend: as all TV shifts to streaming, access must be available to everyone, including those who aren’t particularly tech-savvy. Smalley understands this demographic well, having spent nearly a decade at Comcast. “I’d go to people’s homes,” he recalls, “and some had remote controls with taped-over buttons, simplifying them to resemble a Roku remote.”
This trend of simplifying devices continues in the streaming era. “Some people only use a few apps, and maybe their son sets it up for them. Unfortunately, not everyone has that helpful son,” he notes.
That’s why the new Roku homescreen includes a “quick access” section for frequently used apps right at the top. This section updates automatically based on usage and can even include a tile for switching HDMI ports for those who frequently connect to game consoles. “Different users have different needs,” Smalley explains. “Yet we want to create a single experience that works for everyone.”
Roku City may be heading to mobile
A standout feature of Roku’s new homescreen is the “Your Daily Scoop” section, which offers viewing recommendations based on current trends, holidays, and pop culture moments—though with some limitations. “We’re not going to talk about the war,” Smalley clarifies. “It’s definitely a curated experience.”
While it operates largely on autopilot, this feature does expose one of Roku’s weaknesses: a lack of first-party data. Unlike Google, which leverages search trends, or Amazon, which taps into Alexa usage, Roku is compensating with third-party data. “We’re using some of the LLMs to figure out what people are looking for,” Smalley says.
However, Roku does have unique offerings that competitors lack. For instance, Roku City, the beloved screensaver that gained popularity during the pandemic, now has its own app icon. “We wanted to provide a way for people to launch it without waiting for it to appear,” Smalley explains.
This is a small but significant step in Roku’s efforts to turn Roku City into both a destination and a revenue generator. In recent years, it has incorporated ad campaigns, minigames, and even live concerts into the vibrant cityscape. The next move could be expanding Roku City to mobile. “We have 34 million people using our mobile app every month,” Smalley notes. “We’re exploring the best way to bring some of Roku City to mobile.”
If and when that happens, it will likely be straightforward yet highly effective.
