I am curious about the Roku City move as well. As you mentioned, ads are a fairly possible & potentially big opportunity. If they are able to do it in a seamless & aesthetic way, this could be a great new revenue stream.
On mobile, companies like Glance have used lock screens engagement to build a fairly useful consumer product & ad channel.
Thank you! I’m always a bit wary of companies trying to monetize too much space with ads, but as you say, if they keep doing it very tastefully where it feels organic and part of the city, it’s a good move. Will have to look at Glance, not familiar with them.
I had no idea about Rokus Netflix roots, great bit of history.
Developing original media content seems like getting involved in a land war in Asia though. Hits based business, no content flywheel, and it's really expensive. Feels like that would be a bigger risk than TCL deciding to build their own OS.
Hey Ashish! It's definitely a capital intensive business to get into, and you hit the nail on the head there perfectly. Roku can't, and shouldn't try, spend what Netflix and Co. are in the content game. They're way ahead, and it's a losing battle no doubt.
I think the key is where in the consumers mind Roku is trying to position themselves. It's not their core business, and they're not going to be seen as premium as the Apple, HBO, Netflix tier. I think if they build a decent library, stay out of the way of premium shows, and keep TRC as an added-value and largely AVOD business, they can hold a worthwhile niche.
Fantastic read!
I am curious about the Roku City move as well. As you mentioned, ads are a fairly possible & potentially big opportunity. If they are able to do it in a seamless & aesthetic way, this could be a great new revenue stream.
On mobile, companies like Glance have used lock screens engagement to build a fairly useful consumer product & ad channel.
Thank you! I’m always a bit wary of companies trying to monetize too much space with ads, but as you say, if they keep doing it very tastefully where it feels organic and part of the city, it’s a good move. Will have to look at Glance, not familiar with them.
This was a fantastic piece to read! Would love to see more of these “underrated” gems in how they grow as the publication grows.
Great feedback! Thanks, Manny!
Hi Jaryd, your writing is easy to read and very gripping. Was wondering which writers you’re inspired by?
Hey San! Thank you so much, that means a lot. A lot, but here are a few form the newsletter world:
- Lenny Rachitsky (https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/)
- Packy McCormick (https://www.notboring.co/)
- Rex Woodbury (https://digitalnative.substack.com/)
- Noah Smith (https://www.noahpinion.blog/)
- Aakash Gupta (https://www.news.aakashg.com/)
- and several others I'm probably blanking on
And outside of newsletter writers, some authors I love.
- Bill Bryson
- Sam Harris
- Yuval Noah Harari
Freaking awesome post! Thank you so much!
Love to hear it! 🙏
I had no idea about Rokus Netflix roots, great bit of history.
Developing original media content seems like getting involved in a land war in Asia though. Hits based business, no content flywheel, and it's really expensive. Feels like that would be a bigger risk than TCL deciding to build their own OS.
But hey they obviously know something
Hey Ashish! It's definitely a capital intensive business to get into, and you hit the nail on the head there perfectly. Roku can't, and shouldn't try, spend what Netflix and Co. are in the content game. They're way ahead, and it's a losing battle no doubt.
I think the key is where in the consumers mind Roku is trying to position themselves. It's not their core business, and they're not going to be seen as premium as the Apple, HBO, Netflix tier. I think if they build a decent library, stay out of the way of premium shows, and keep TRC as an added-value and largely AVOD business, they can hold a worthwhile niche.
But yea, very curious to see how this pans out.