Roku partners with Best Buy to sell its first company-made smart TVs

Roku Inc., an American company that makes various digital media players for video streaming, has teamed up with Best Buy to sell its own smart televisions. The company produced its very first smart TVs, and these will be exclusively sold at said consumer electronics retailer’s physical stores and on its website.

Roku will be selling its TV sets starting at $150 to more than $1,000. Customers can buy them now as the devices are already available at Best Buy outlets. People can choose from a range of 11 smart TVs designed and made by Roku Inc.

According to CNBC, the television sets made by the company will offer more choices for customers while also stepping up Roku’s active account growth. While it also sells TVs made by other brands such as Hisense and Westinghouse, the company’s chief executive officer, Anthony Wood, previously said he is very optimistic about selling Roku’s own brand of televisions.

“It also kind of provides a direct contact with the customers that allows us to make the innovation cycle even faster,” Wood said about the production and sale of its own TVs. “In Roku’s case, I think it will also allow us to continue to move upstream faster in terms of higher-end customers.”

It was noted that Roku made the announcement shortly after releasing its fourth-quarter financial results last month. While it posted a smaller-than-expected loss, some business analysts expressed concerns for the company because many advertisers have decided to pull back on spending.

In any case, Roku’s new smart TVs will have its signature voice remote pro, local dimming and automatic brightness function, and Bluetooth for private listening. The Roku Select and Plus series TV sets were first unveiled at the latest Consumer Electric Show (CES) that was held in January, and now it is hitting the shelves via Best Buy stores. Customers can choose from screen sizes ranging from 24 to 75 inches.