Fox Corporation has agreed to acquire streaming platform Roku for $22 billion, according to the Financial Times.
The deal would represent one of the largest media acquisitions in recent years and would give Fox a significant presence in the connected television market. Roku operates one of the most widely used streaming platforms in the United States, offering both hardware devices and a software interface that carries content from dozens of streaming services.
The Financial Times reported the agreement but did not publish additional terms of the deal, including the expected closing date or how Fox plans to finance the purchase.
Fox, which operates the Fox News channel, Fox Sports, and the Fox broadcast network, has been building out its direct-to-consumer strategy in recent years. A Roku acquisition would give the company both a distribution platform and a large existing user base at a time when traditional television viewership continues to decline.
Roku has been one of the dominant players in the streaming device market for years, competing with Amazon's Fire TV and Google's Chromecast. The company also generates significant revenue from advertising sold on its platform.
The $22 billion price tag would be a substantial bet by Fox on the future of streaming distribution. Details on regulatory review and closing timelines had not been published at the time of reporting.
