Roku users can breathe a big sigh of relief: the company's contract with Amazon has been officially extended. The news means that the Prime Video and IMDb TV apps will continue to be available on all Roku devices.
The terms of the distribution deal have not been disclosed, but Roku described the tie-up as a "multi-year extension". Roku shares rose five percent shortly after the announcement.
Why is it such a big deal? Well, lets just say that negotiations between Roku and other tech giants haven't always been plain sailing...
Last April, Roku accused Google of "demanding unfair and anti-competitive terms that harm Roku's users". Google's YouTube TV app was pulled from The Roku Store until the two companies reached a "multi-year" agreement in December.
Roku has been involved in similar clashes with both NBCUniversal, owner of Peacock TV, and HBO.
Last October, it was rumoured that talks between Roku and Amazon might be going the same way. Apparently, there was a disagreement over customer data. Roku platform head Scott Rosenberg denied the rumours at the time.
Today's announcement doesn't mention data sharing but the deal is likely to benefit both parties. Amazon's ad-supported IMDb TV app continues to be a click away for millions of Roku customers; Roku's ad-supported channel continues to be available on Amazon's many Fire TV devices.
Roku already makes some of the best standalone media streamers on the market but there's talk of it launching its own range of smart TVs.
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