What you need to know
- Roku is reportedly hiring to start production on its own content.
- The company could produce both movies and TV shows to feature on its platform.
- It's not yet clear how what sort of service Roku plans for its content, or if the newly acquired Quibi has anything to do with it.
Roku is hiring. The company famous for its TV platform and popular digital media players is apparently tired of just playing other people's content and wants to start making its own. According to a report from Protocol, Roku is already scouting out a production team for its own original content according to a recently spotted job opening.
The opening for a Lead Production Attorney was posted four weeks ago, although the job has apparently already been filled. Among the responsibilities for the role is to negotiate, draft agreements, and provide legal guidance "for Roku's original episodic and feature-length productions."
Exact plans for Roku are unknown but come not long after the company snatched up the failed streaming service, Quibi. The company announced in a blog post that it was going to make Quibi shows available later this year on the best Roku devices, so it's possible that this move could have something to do with that purchase. The mention of feature-length productions in the job posting does indicate that Roku may have grander schemes in mind, though.
Original content from Roku à la Netflix might not be such a bad idea. Roku players are among the best streaming devices available and even come preinstalled on many TVs, so it would already have the reach. Of course, if Roku wants to take on the Netflixes and Apple TVs of the world, it would need a good strategy to entice its already vast amount of users to add yet another subscription to their repertoire.
