Roku a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company has announced that it reached a multiyear agreement with Google to keep YouTube and YouTube TV on its streaming platform, this came after Google had previously threatened to pull both YouTube and YouTube TV off Roku on Dec. 9.
Roku shock went up by about 8% on Wednesday morning after the announcement. The deal will allow the 56.4 million active Roku accounts to continue to watch YouTube and YouTube TV, Google’s live streaming service, without disruption.
“Roku said in a statement. “This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, making both YouTube and YouTube TV available for all streamers on the Roku platform.”
Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
The negotiation between Roku and YouTube became contentious over both parties’ need for advertising revenue. Roku asks for a percentage of advertisements to sell to its customers in each carriage deal it negotiates. YouTube, the second most visited website in the world, dominates streaming viewing and has the popularity to push back on Roku’s demands. Roku claimed Google required it to preference YouTube content over that of other providers in the company’s search results.
Roku offer access to streaming media content from various online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduced in May 2008.
– CNBC