Forward-looking: Streaming media player maker Roku as part of its earnings report this week predicted that by 2024, roughly half of all US homes will have cut the cord or never had traditional pay TV to begin with.
At last check a little over a year ago, research firm MoffettNathanson estimated that around 78 percent of US households still had some form of pay TV like cable or satellite. And that's after years and years of companies like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu pushing streaming platforms down our throats so to think that the traditional pay TV industry could lose another 25 percent of subscribers in four years isn't all that far-fetched, especially with the advent of 5G.
For those curious, Roku finished the fourth quarter with 36.9 million active accounts that collectively streamed 11.7 billion hours of content. Total revenue for the quarter ending December 31, 2019, checked in at $411.2 million, up from $275.7 million in the year-ago period and $260.9 million in the previous three-month window leading into the holidays.
An increase in operating expenses in the quarter, however, contributed to a $17.4 million loss overall.
Roku's stock popped in after-hours trading following the close of markets yesterday but is down more than six percent on the day as of this writing.
Masthead credit: Cord cutting by Kevin McGovern. Roku models by rblfmr.