Roku’s total number of active accounts topped 70 million globally in the last three months of 2021, the company announced Thursday.
Additionally, the streaming company said that users spent 23.9 billion hours streaming Roku content during the year’s fourth quarter.
That’s ahead of the 22.6 billion streaming hours analysts tracked by FactSet were expecting, according to MarketWatch.
For the year, Roku said streaming hours rose 19% from 2021, to 87.4 billion hours.
“As consumers continue the shift to TV streaming, we’re excited that a growing number of people are taking the journey with Roku, and we’re proud to reach this meaningful milestone today,” Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood said in a statement.
The streaming platform reported 65.4 million active accounts at the end of its third quarter, when it warned investors that the fourth quarter wouldn’t be as strong because of the industry-wide advertising slump. It predicted a 7.5% revenue plunge in the quarter that ended Dec. 30.
But in its announcement Thursday, Roku noted that Nielsen determined that time spent streaming surpassed cable use for the first time in 2022.
The news came a day after Roku unveiled its move into the TV manufacturing business. It announced the launch this spring of its first-ever branded HD and 4K TVs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Roku also expanded its original content in the fourth quarter, including its first original movie, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” starring “Harry Potter” actor Daniel Radcliffe in the mock rock biopic. Roku also partnered with Paramount+, Lionsgate, AMC Networks and Discovery+ to add content.
“Roku is laser-focused on delivering affordable, easy-to-use products and an operating system that makes streaming accessible to all,” Wood said. “We look forward to continuing to bring innovative and delightful experiences to more and more viewers this year.”
The announcement also follows layoffs that shaved about 5% of the company’s workforce, or 200 jobs, in November. At the time, Roku said the cuts were necessary because of “economic conditions in our industry” and said it expected that wider economic woes would further pressure where consumers spent their entertainment dollars. The slowdown in inflation appears to have headed off the worst of those concerns.
The figures are considered estimated data. Roku is slated to report its final operating metrics and financial results for the fourth quarter in February.
The volatile stock slipped 2.4% to $41.34 in Thursday morning trading as the broader markets slumped. Roku shares saw a 75% meltdown in 2022 after seeing a major boost during the pandemic. That was a much bigger drop than the nearly 20% recorded by the S&P 500 index.
